Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded down 0.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $61.78 and last traded at $61.97. 4,628,746 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 13,267,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Four research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $266.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $68.82 and its 200 day moving average is $66.48.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total value of $2,804,826.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,150,619.18. The trade was a 35.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock valued at $20,677,431. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $18,383,000. Balentine LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 21,005 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after buying an additional 31,979 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $769,000. Institutional investors 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.