The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.07.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. Bank of America upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.1 %

KO opened at $71.71 on Tuesday. Coca-Cola has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.30 and its 200 day moving average is $64.46.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.