The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Insider Nikolaos Koumettis Sells 55,500 Shares

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Nikolaos Koumettis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 26th, Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock traded down $0.54 on Tuesday, hitting $70.91. 12,185,148 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,985,326. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.57. The firm has a market cap of $304.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

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

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.