Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.3% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded up 0.3% during trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $72.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $62.31 and last traded at $62.09. 1,957,099 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 13,937,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.93.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.6% during the third quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 5,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 115,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,469,000 after buying an additional 4,883 shares during the last quarter. Windsor Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Windsor Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 540,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,251,000 after acquiring an additional 12,444 shares during the period. Finally, Avaii Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.21 and a 200-day moving average of $59.04.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

About Coca-Cola

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.