Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.5%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shot up 0.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $58.85 and last traded at $58.78. 2,143,370 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 13,658,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.4 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.52. The stock has a market cap of $253.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.6% during the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.3% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707 shares during the period. Cohen Lawrence B raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.8% during the third quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 40,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 46,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.