Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.1% - Should You Sell?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $68.65 and last traded at $68.86. 2,733,383 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 14,072,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.24.

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Coca-Cola Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.43. The company has a market cap of $304.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other 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 value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rice Partnership LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company's stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company's stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company's stock worth $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,582,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 222.9% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 132,701 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

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.