Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded up 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $62.00 and last traded at $61.97. 2,335,230 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 13,327,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Barclays cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 8.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,881 shares of company stock valued at $10,693,244 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 182,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,116,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 46.5% in the third quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 617,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,401,000 after buying an additional 196,124 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.7% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 8,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 147.5% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 142,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,271,000 after acquiring an additional 85,189 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in 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.