Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 1.9% - Here's What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $71.84 and last traded at $71.73. Approximately 5,413,511 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 14,854,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of 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 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.24.

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Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.59%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 208.4% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 37,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,705,000 after buying an additional 25,440 shares during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $395,000. Biglari Sardar lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the third quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 106,634 shares of the company's stock worth $7,663,000 after acquiring an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 485.4% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 93,563 shares of the company's stock worth $6,724,000 after acquiring an additional 77,580 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently 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.