Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Stock Has Average Target Price of $97.26

Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.26.

Several research firms recently commented on KO. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total transaction of $10,126,419.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,761,319.45. The trade was a 72.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 20,585 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.62, for a total value of $1,968,337.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $21,354,814.60. The trade was a 8.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 249,498 shares of company stock worth $23,025,238 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 29.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 483,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,654,000 after buying an additional 110,321 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the third quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 47,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,126,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 15.2% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 206,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,787,000 after acquiring an additional 27,199 shares during the last quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 73,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,341,000 after acquiring an additional 10,698 shares during the period. Finally, Bluebird Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $188,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Coca-Cola News

Here are the key news stories impacting Coca-Cola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s push into functional beverages is gaining traction, with fairlife, Powerade and smartwater growth, alongside innovation and capacity expansion, offering potential avenues for growth. Can Coca-Cola Benefit From Rising Demand for Functional Drinks?
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles emphasize KO’s durable brands and its 64-year record of dividend increases, reinforcing its appeal to long-term income investors. One report also notes Berkshire Hathaway receives about $848 million annually in dividends from its Coca-Cola investment. Coca-Cola’s Dividend Has Grown 64 Years in a Row Warren Buffett’s Coca-Cola Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola India is advancing draft papers for an IPO. The report does not specify how the offering could affect KO financially. Coca-Cola India IPO moves forward with draft papers
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Nancy Quan sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards and retained a substantial stake, making the transaction less informative as a signal about her outlook. Coca-Cola EVP Nancy Quan Sells Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary cautions that KO’s share-price gains have outpaced revisions to its earnings outlook, raising valuation concerns. Higher real Treasury yields and competing bond yields could also make dividend stocks less attractive to some investors. Coca-Cola Stock Keeps Setting Records Treasuries Now Offer 2.66% Above Inflation

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $96.94 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.93. Coca-Cola has a 12 month low of $67.27 and a 12 month high of $97.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 28.65%. The company had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 62.35%.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands. The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.