Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.1%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $57.93 and last traded at $58.06. Approximately 11,236,839 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 11,953,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.52. 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 company has a market cap of $252.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm's 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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 124.5% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 22,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 12,501 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 226,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,013,000 after purchasing an additional 23,500 shares in the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 13,947 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 25,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 1,998 shares during the period. 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.