Stocks

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 1.7% - What's Next?

Published December 12, 2024

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) saw a 1.7% increase on Thursday, reaching a high of $63.74 before settling at $63.72. The trading volume was 4,000,427 shares, which is significantly lower than the average volume of 13,791,956 shares. This follows a previous closing price of $62.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently evaluated Coca-Cola's stock. CFRA maintained a "hold" rating, while Wells Fargo reduced its price target from $78.00 to $75.00, keeping an "overweight" rating. HSBC Global Research upgraded Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" on September 27. Further, Barclays cut their price target from $74.00 to $73.00, also with an "overweight" rating. Morgan Stanley adjusted their price objective from $78.00 to $76.00, maintaining an "overweight" stance. Overall, three analysts rate it as a hold, thirteen have buy ratings, and one analyst gives it a strong buy rating. Currently, Coca-Cola holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $72.50 according to MarketBeat.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, along with a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The 50-day moving average price stands at $65.68, while the 200-day moving average is $66.59. Coca-Cola has a market capitalization of $273.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 3.80, and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola reported its quarterly earnings data on October 23, posting an EPS of $0.77, surpassing the analysts’ expectation of $0.74 by $0.03. Their revenue for the quarter was $11.85 billion, compared to a predicted $11.61 billion. The net margin was 22.45%, and the return on equity reached 44.01%. However, overall revenue decreased by 0.8% from the previous year’s quarter, where the EPS was $0.74. Analysts project a yearly EPS of 2.85 for Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, scheduled for payment on December 16 to shareholders who are on record as of November 29. This dividend indicates an annualized dividend of $1.94 and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is also set for November 29, and Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio stands at 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In recent insider news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares on November 8 for an average price of $64.03, resulting in a transaction worth $6,403,000. Post-transaction, Quincey owns 342,546 shares, valued at approximately $21,933,220. This sale marked a 22.60% reduction in his ownership stake in Coca-Cola. Insider ownership currently rests at 0.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Numerous hedge funds and institutional investors are adjusting their stakes in Coca-Cola. FMR LLC increased its holdings by 13.7% in the third quarter, now owning 92,961,376 shares valued at $6.68 billion after adding 11,206,995 shares. Geode Capital Management also raised its stake by 3.3%, holding 92,957,028 shares valued at $6.66 billion. Additionally, Legal & General Group increased its stake by 2.9%, while Wellington Management grew its position by 14.5%. Franklin Resources Inc. added 6.1% to its holdings. In total, institutional investors and hedge funds control 70.26% of Coca-Cola's shares.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company is a global beverage manufacturer recognized for producing, marketing, and selling nonalcoholic beverages worldwide, including sparkling soft drinks, water, coffee, juice, dairy, and plant-based drinks, among others. Additionally, the company supplies beverage concentrates and syrups for various retailers.