Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.5% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $70.28 and last traded at $70.28. 4,693,155 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 13,112,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.90.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $303.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.70 and a 200 day moving average of $65.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,954,176.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth about $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is 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.