The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.22.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Barclays raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 17,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares in the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 25,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 18,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $61.74 on Friday. Coca-Cola has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.69. The firm has a market cap of $266.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.12 and a 200-day moving average of $58.82.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

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.