The Coca-Cola Company to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $0.75 Per Share, Wedbush Forecasts (NYSE:KO)

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Wedbush reduced their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Coca-Cola in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, May 1st. Wedbush analyst G. Pascarelli now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $0.75 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.76. The consensus estimate for Coca-Cola's current full-year earnings is $2.81 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Coca-Cola's Q2 2025 earnings at $0.89 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.82 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.57 EPS.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share.

KO has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.18. 11,627,983 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,021,238. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $268.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57. Coca-Cola has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.25.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $2,808,056,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933,527 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $709,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,390,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893,061 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.