Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 1.9% Higher – What’s Next?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price rose 1.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $71.84 and last traded at $71.73. Approximately 5,413,511 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 14,854,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $308.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.77 and its 200-day moving average is $66.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

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.