Insider Selling: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Insider Sells $3,882,079.68 in Stock

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.51. The stock has a market cap of $306.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $511,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $202,017,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XY Planning Network Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

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.