The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives $67.22 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.18.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $61.92 on Friday. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 78.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.