Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 1.2% Higher – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was up 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $63.95 and last traded at $63.60. Approximately 3,456,766 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 15,855,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler 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 Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $275.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

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

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 14,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $510,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth approximately $630,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,601,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by 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.