Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price was up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $63.75 and last traded at $63.42. Approximately 4,038,512 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 13,243,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.99 and its 200 day moving average is $66.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $269.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued 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 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 40,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $2,804,826.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,150,619.18. The trade was a 35.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apella Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.