The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Short Interest Down 6.1% in October

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 31,870,000 shares, a drop of 6.1% from the September 30th total of 33,950,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 14,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 261,870 shares of company stock worth $18,256,369. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $65.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $280.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.60. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.26. Coca-Cola has a 12 month low of $56.06 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Five 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.80.

About Coca-Cola

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.