Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 2% After Insider Selling

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) fell 2% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $70.48 and last traded at $70.55. 5,351,452 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 15,687,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.00.

Specifically, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock's 50-day moving average is $71.41 and its 200-day moving average is $67.45. The firm has a market cap of $307.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. New Republic Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.1% during the first quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, BXM Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.