Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 0.2% After Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) rose 0.2% on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $73.00 to $78.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $72.30 and last traded at $72.22. Approximately 1,787,498 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 13,078,214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.10.

KO has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $3,255,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth approximately $102,604,000. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Wealth Quarterback LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 17,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BDF Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,421,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $311.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.04. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.