Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded down 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $62.40 and last traded at $62.47. 1,630,124 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 14,008,507 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.59. The stock has a market cap of $269.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 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.