Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.6%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) fell 0.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $68.11 and last traded at $68.29. 1,974,128 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 13,021,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.20.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $293.72 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.09.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 928,460 shares of company stock valued at $575,312,245. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $2,808,056,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,028,000 after purchasing an additional 814,779 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,337,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,866,000 after purchasing an additional 378,447 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,523,000 after buying an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. 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.