Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.5% - Should You Sell?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $69.05 and last traded at $69.21. 2,983,459 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 15,492,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 2.2%

The firm has a market cap of $304.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The business's 50 day moving average price is $70.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Coca-Cola's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This trade represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 148.4% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 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.