Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded down 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $62.06 and last traded at $62.14. 2,801,288 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 13,341,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.50. The stock has a market cap of $274.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. The trade was a 7.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 160,881 shares of company stock worth $10,693,244. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.