Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.3% on Insider Selling

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price was down 0.3% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $62.51 and last traded at $62.99. Approximately 2,694,899 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 13,246,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.20.

Specifically, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on KO. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.53. The stock has a market cap of $271.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 207,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,723,000 after acquiring an additional 31,397 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,578,000 after purchasing an additional 20,048 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 8,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. 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.