Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0% - Here's Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 0% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $69.08 and last traded at $68.70. 3,068,430 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 14,038,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.24.

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Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $67.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 29,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.