The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives $74.24 Average Target Price from Brokerages

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.24.

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 31,979 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 87.4% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 60,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,369,000 after purchasing an additional 28,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 9.0% in the third quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 158,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,419,000 after purchasing an additional 13,110 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $69.63 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.85 and a 200-day moving average of $66.55. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $299.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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.