Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares rose 0.7% during trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $78.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $71.50 and last traded at $71.31. Approximately 3,121,701 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 12,930,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.84.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on KO. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at $13,644,979.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,014,029 shares of company stock worth $581,682,074. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,933,527 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $193,342,000. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,051,000 after buying an additional 2,973,234 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $307.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.