Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price dropped 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $72.01 and last traded at $72.08. Approximately 3,714,379 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 15,293,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on KO. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $308.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 376.4% in the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,166,000 after acquiring an additional 68,201 shares during the last quarter. Aries Wealth Management raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the first quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 12,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.1% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 81,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.