Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.9%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price was up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $63.85 and last traded at $63.65. Approximately 1,663,377 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 12,897,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.00.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.01 and its 200 day moving average is $61.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 822,284 shares of company stock valued at $567,718,040. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $79,000. Financial Insights Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $256,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,543,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 10,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 2,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 190,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,641,000 after acquiring an additional 3,845 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

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.