Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0% – Time to Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price traded up 0% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $65.18 and last traded at $65.14. 1,782,249 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 13,192,385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Five equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $281.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total value of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total value of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,150,619.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 203,748 shares of company stock valued at $14,274,431. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 248.3% in the third quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 26,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 18,797 shares during the last quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,263,000. Meridian Management Co. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 30,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 25.2% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 11,793,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $847,468,000 after buying an additional 222,028 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.