Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price dropped 0.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $69.72 and last traded at $70.03. Approximately 2,793,100 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 13,225,600 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, 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 transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 376,096 shares of company stock valued at $25,982,352 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,016,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 11,127.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,972,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,928,441 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,234 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.