Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.8% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was up 0.8% on Friday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $70.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $66.62 and last traded at $66.62. Approximately 3,212,450 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 12,821,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.07.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on KO. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,055.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 841,588 shares of company stock valued at $568,972,027 over the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,023,000 after buying an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,343,000 after buying an additional 4,933,527 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,342,000. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,234 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.44. The stock has a market cap of $287.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly 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 last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.