Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price shot up 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $72.36 and last traded at $71.96. 2,833,705 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 14,893,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 4.5 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $300.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.