Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) were up 0.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $64.71 and last traded at $64.30. Approximately 2,747,157 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 13,411,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on KO shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $277.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its 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. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $452,000. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 57,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after purchasing an additional 7,226 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 25,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. Montchanin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $791,000. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 76,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,695,000 after buying an additional 10,195 shares in 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.