Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 2.3% Higher - Time to Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 2.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $69.98 and last traded at $69.91. Approximately 5,320,516 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 15,100,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $69.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.36. The company has a market capitalization of $307.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company's stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $1,582,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,814,000 after buying an additional 132,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 893,192 shares of the company's stock worth $55,610,000 after acquiring an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.