UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at UBS Group from $78.00 to $84.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.08% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $72.99 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.42. Coca-Cola has a 12 month low of $59.00 and a 12 month high of $73.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $961,317.50. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 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.