Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $74.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

KO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.06.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $72.80 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.37. 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 12-month low of $59.72 and a 12-month high of $73.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, equities analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,727,131,000 after buying an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.