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

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.14.

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 57.6% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 11.2% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 17,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares during the last quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,395,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 132,701 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO opened at $62.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.58. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $57.47 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $269.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.