Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.1%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $61.21 and last traded at $61.72. Approximately 3,092,831 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 13,919,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.18.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.21 and a 200 day moving average of $59.04. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $266.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company's stock worth $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,501,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,808,056,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,664 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.7% during 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 period. 70.26% of the stock is currently 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.