Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded up 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $63.04 and last traded at $62.89. 3,466,620 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 13,908,067 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.60. The company has a market cap of $269.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,383,000. Balentine LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,351,000 after buying an additional 59,503 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,122,000 after acquiring an additional 46,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 21,005 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.