Insider Selling: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) CEO Sells 100,000 Shares of Stock

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

James Quincey also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 26th, James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of Coca-Cola stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94.
• On Wednesday, August 21st, James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $63.02 on Thursday. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.70 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.53. The company has a market cap of $271.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $18,383,000. Balentine LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 21,005 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 31,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $769,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.