Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 0.1% After Insider Selling

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price traded down 0.1% on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $71.88 and last traded at $72.00. 2,865,490 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 12,980,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.05.

Specifically, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several research reports. Argus upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.73.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,601,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $630,000. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $505,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 12,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 3,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.