Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 1.7% Higher - Here's What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $63.74 and last traded at $63.72. 4,000,427 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 13,791,956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KO. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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, Barclays decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.50.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.59. The company has a market capitalization of $275.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at $18,383,000. Balentine LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,122,000 after acquiring an additional 46,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 21,005 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.