Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0% – Still a Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded up 0% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $69.08 and last traded at $68.70. 3,068,430 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 14,038,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.43. The company has a market capitalization of $295.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $181,000. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $1,924,000. M1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $782,000. Finally, Thoma Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $669,000. 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.