Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $64.48 and last traded at $63.85. Approximately 5,859,636 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 13,398,273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 160,881 shares of company stock valued at $10,693,244. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. FMR LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after buying an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,479,000 after buying an additional 177,241 shares during 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.