The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives $74.24 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.24.

Several analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $68.97 on Tuesday. Coca-Cola has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.42. The company has a market cap of $296.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,520,662.64. This represents a 18.14 % 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 in the last quarter. 0.97% 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 business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $181,000. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,924,000. M1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $782,000. Finally, Thoma Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $669,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.