The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) CEO James Quincey Sells 266,403 Shares

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:KO traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.39. 13,559,872 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,775,966. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.45. 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 Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The firm has a market cap of $307.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Coca-Cola's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 360.0% during the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.