Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 0.1% - Here's What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $72.08 and last traded at $71.77. 2,433,698 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 15,610,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on KO. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $308.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 33,726 shares of the company's stock worth $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 762,841 shares of the company's stock worth $54,635,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the first quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the company's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth $279,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 22.7% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 36,729 shares of the company's stock worth $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 6,784 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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