Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.2% Higher

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $62.82 and last traded at $62.49. Approximately 1,996,369 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 13,828,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KO. Citigroup upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $269.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $60.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 380,405 shares of company stock valued at $23,209,645. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $2,808,056,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company's stock worth $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,893,061 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.