Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price was up 1.8% during trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $84.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $72.68 and last traded at $72.95. Approximately 5,371,652 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 15,326,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.68.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on KO. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rice Partnership LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,582,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,814,000 after buying an additional 132,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 893,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,610,000 after buying an additional 8,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 2.3 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.