The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.24.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.37 and its 200 day moving average is $66.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $301.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. Coca-Cola has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,094,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,146,000 after buying an additional 210,152 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Members Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,369,000. Hara Capital LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $330,000. 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.