Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Sets New 52-Week High at $64.92

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $64.92 and last traded at $64.85, with a volume of 971530 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $278.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.09 and a 200 day moving average of $61.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total transaction of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 822,284 shares of company stock worth $567,718,040 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $2,808,056,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 8,733,326 shares in 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 acquiring an additional 4,933,527 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,342,000. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.