The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives $72.36 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.36.

KO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $61.74 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.54. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $56.70 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $265.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This trade represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 303,748 shares of company stock worth $20,677,431. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 207,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,723,000 after purchasing an additional 31,397 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,935,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,578,000 after acquiring an additional 20,048 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 8,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.