The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.55.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KO. Barclays lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,774 shares of company stock worth $8,952,720 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at $28,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $62.55 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $61.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.46. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 77.60%.

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.