Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 2.8% – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price dropped 2.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $63.23 and last traded at $63.53. Approximately 8,593,354 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 13,203,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $274.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.90 and its 200 day moving average is $66.43. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total value of $2,804,826.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,150,619.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. This trade represents 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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,748 shares of company stock worth $14,274,431 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 42.9% during the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 6,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 17.6% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 40.2% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 13,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 3,987 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 6.8% during the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,577,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.