Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) were down 0.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $65.81 and last traded at $66.12. Approximately 3,996,026 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 13,194,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.80.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.62 and a 200-day moving average of $66.17. The company has a market cap of $283.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. 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 2.95%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after buying an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,479,000 after buying an additional 177,241 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 30.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964,850 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Coca-Cola by 15.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,433,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,930 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Coca-Cola

(Get Free Report)

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.

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