Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.6% – Should You Sell?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares traded down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $62.40 and last traded at $62.47. 1,630,124 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 14,008,507 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.99 and a 200-day moving average of $66.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $269.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 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.