Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Coverage Initiated at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.27.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $60.70 on Tuesday. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $57.93 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $261.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.55.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.