Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Raised to $72.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.00 to $72.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on KO. BNP Paribas began coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an outperform rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Argus increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.0 %

KO opened at $63.70 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.10. The company has a market capitalization of $274.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59. Coca-Cola has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 822,284 shares of company stock valued at $567,718,040. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.