The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued 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 $72.36.

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $63.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $272.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.52. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $56.60 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 207,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,723,000 after buying an additional 31,397 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.6% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.7% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,578,000 after purchasing an additional 20,048 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 8,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.