Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 0.3% - Here's Why

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) dropped 0.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $72.82 and last traded at $72.76. Approximately 4,838,785 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 18,510,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.06.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.1 %

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 company has a market cap of $315.74 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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%. Research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,334. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 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 modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after buying an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.