The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives $74.24 Average Price Target from Brokerages

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.24.

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,769,334. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $500,192,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Coca-Cola has a one year low of $57.93 and a one year high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.48.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.