Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 1.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) rose 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.80 and last traded at $69.79. Approximately 3,843,934 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 16,411,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $300.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. On average, equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $139,000. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.9% in the third quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ledyard National Bank increased its position in Coca-Cola by 12.2% during the third quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 19,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.