Insider Selling: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) COO Sells 25,277 Shares of Stock

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO traded down $0.53 on Thursday, reaching $69.41. The stock had a trading volume of 7,012,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,023,194. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. 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 $298.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.24.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company's stock worth $6,664,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,964 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 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.

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