UBS Group Cuts Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $72.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target decreased by UBS Group from $82.00 to $72.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $62.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.69 and a 200-day moving average of $66.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $270.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

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 transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 142.1% during the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 10,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth about $995,000. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 8.7% during the second quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Intrepid Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth about $201,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.