Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.7% on Strong Earnings

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price shot up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $72.35 and last traded at $72.33. 6,184,838 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 15,362,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.79.

The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, 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 in the last 90 days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.2% in the first quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. BXM Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peachtree Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $312.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.58.

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.