The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Declares $0.51 Quarterly Dividend

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 1st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of 0.51 per share on Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th.

Coca-Cola has a payout ratio of 63.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Coca-Cola to earn $3.19 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 63.9%.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $72.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Coca-Cola has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.38 and a 200-day moving average of $67.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $6,391,355.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. This represents a 30.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.