Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 2.9% – Should You Sell?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price fell 2.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $66.05 and last traded at $67.92. 12,358,568 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 15,052,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 2.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $293.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.81 and its 200 day moving average is $66.36.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 120,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,674,000 after purchasing an additional 22,515 shares during the last quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 68,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,919,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 71.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 427 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.