Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 1.5%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares were down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $70.41 and last traded at $70.61. Approximately 2,321,515 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 13,254,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.2 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $305.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KO. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.