The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives $71.07 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.07.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KO shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $71.37 on Tuesday. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a market cap of $307.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.57 and a 200 day moving average of $64.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,398,603.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.