Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 2.9% - Time to Sell?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 2.9% on Monday . The company traded as low as $66.05 and last traded at $67.92. 12,358,568 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 15,052,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.24.

Remove Ads

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $308.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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 expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.