CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.3077.

A number of equities analysts have commented on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, Director Max R. Levchin bought 7,206 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.87 per share, with a total value of $503,483.22. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 14,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,835.29. This trade represents a 102.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,109.25. The trade was a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the second quarter valued at about $3,846,270,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 52.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,185,000 after purchasing an additional 16,383,870 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $642,183,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,996,519,000 after purchasing an additional 6,241,163 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $68.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.00. CocaCola has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. Equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 67.55%.

CocaCola 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.