CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 1.5% – Here’s Why

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)’s stock price shot up 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $71.75 and last traded at $71.5940. 16,140,807 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 16,779,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on CocaCola from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CocaCola from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.43.

CocaCola Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $307.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. CocaCola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 27.34%.The company had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 67.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total value of $947,411.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,638,109.25. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Max R. Levchin acquired 7,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $69.87 per share, for a total transaction of $503,483.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 14,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,835.29. This trade represents a 102.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 6.2% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 516,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,273,000 after buying an additional 29,955 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in CocaCola by 30.4% during the third quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 139,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,249,000 after acquiring an additional 32,490 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 122,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,137,000 after acquiring an additional 9,608 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 14,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About CocaCola

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.