Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.2% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) rose 0.2% during trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $71.73 and last traded at $71.43. Approximately 3,765,327 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 18,334,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.29.

The newly announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $308.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $70.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.