Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.5%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $58.85 and last traded at $58.78. 2,143,370 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 13,658,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 12.2% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,354,000 after buying an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.6% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 10.3% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,435,000 after buying an additional 5,707 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Lawrence B boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.8% in the third quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 40,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 46,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is 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.