Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares dropped 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $69.45 and last traded at $69.87. Approximately 5,207,808 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 17,335,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $302.71 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock worth $16,515,469 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $500,192,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.