Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $62.64 and last traded at $62.56. Approximately 1,665,301 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 14,044,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Cfra restated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $270.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.3% in the third quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.