Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares rose 0.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $62.12 and last traded at $61.94. Approximately 2,722,420 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 13,317,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KO. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.55. The firm has a market cap of $269.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. 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.