Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.1% - Still a Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $63.04 and last traded at $62.89. Approximately 3,466,620 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 13,908,067 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, December 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50 day moving average is $64.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at 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.