Analysts Set The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Price Target at $65.25

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Rating) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.25.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 11th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $61.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $58.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

In related news, insider Henrique Braun sold 9,436 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total transaction of $565,310.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 43,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.81, for a total transaction of $2,784,413.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 66,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,227,093.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 354,118 shares of company stock valued at $21,991,445. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 279,741,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,563,519,000 after buying an additional 9,884,447 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 170,597,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,101,102,000 after buying an additional 2,984,878 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 69,443,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,102,043,000 after buying an additional 2,035,444 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 50,747,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,662,738,000 after buying an additional 2,484,005 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,269,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,976,429,000 after buying an additional 2,213,153 shares during the period. 67.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $64.69. 510,439 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,249,361. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.13. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $64.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.65.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 10th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 42.21%. The company had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 15th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.88%.

About Coca-Cola (Get Rating)

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks; flavored and enhanced water, and sports drinks; juice, dairy, and plantÂ-based beverages; tea and coffee; and energy drinks. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.

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