Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $64.29 and last traded at $64.20. 3,850,089 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 15,074,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.31.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $296.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.32.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $315,000. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 13,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $6,338,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 68,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,286,000 after buying an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $343,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by 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.