Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Cut to $65.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target decreased by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.03% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on KO. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO opened at $60.17 on Friday. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $259.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.58.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth approximately $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 16.7% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 41.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,255,000 after buying an additional 43,680 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 385.3% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 15,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 11.9% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,115,000 after buying an additional 301,804 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.