Insider Selling: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) CEO Sells 42,397 Shares of Stock

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

James Quincey also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, August 21st, James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, reaching $71.41. The stock had a trading volume of 8,002,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,959,646. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $65.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $51.55 and a 12 month high of $71.50.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after buying an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,808,056,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,463,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,475 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,362,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,479,000 after acquiring an additional 177,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,171,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,028,000 after buying an additional 814,779 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is 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.