Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $65.99 and last traded at $65.97. 2,643,651 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 13,206,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.54 and a 200 day moving average of $66.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $286.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 319,005 shares of company stock valued at $22,198,147 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% in the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by 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.