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

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $65.08 and last traded at $65.12. 2,135,357 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 13,207,259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.26. The company has a market cap of $280.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 261,870 shares of company stock valued at $18,256,369 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KO. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company's stock worth $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 21,005 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $102,604,000. BDF Gestion bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $7,421,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 10.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,149,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,151,000 after purchasing an additional 107,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 191.1% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company's stock worth $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 73,434 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.