Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $69.45, but opened at $66.99. Coca-Cola shares last traded at $67.82, with a volume of 4,806,567 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 2.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.94. The firm has a market cap of $292.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,954,176.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total transaction of $3,981,938.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,074,330.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 100,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 423,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,408,000 after buying an additional 3,607 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 819,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,875,000 after buying an additional 3,542 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,926,000 after acquiring an additional 23,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.