Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 0.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) were down 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $69.27 and last traded at $69.24. Approximately 2,712,900 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 13,899,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.6 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $295.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the period. United Bank raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 31,979 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,683,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,148,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,138,000 after purchasing an additional 274,961 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.