The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total value of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 356,792 shares of company stock valued at $24,728,364 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 80,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $269,000. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 70,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 4,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.1% during the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 1,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $70.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $303.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. 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 has a 1-year low of $53.86 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.72.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. 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.