Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 1% – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.47 and last traded at $69.47. 3,187,663 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 14,018,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.