Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares shot up 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $63.86 and last traded at $63.59. 4,072,470 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 13,804,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of 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 target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.65.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.