Evercore ISI Raises Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $70.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its target price raised by Evercore ISI from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $62.17 on Wednesday. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.24 and its 200-day moving average is $59.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.57.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the first quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 30,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.