Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 0.3% - What's Next?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $68.58 and last traded at $68.78. 2,959,953 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 17,968,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. 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 at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This 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 valued at $32,990,056 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. 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.