Barclays Raises Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $69.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

KO stock opened at $62.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.57. Coca-Cola has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.2% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.6% during the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 10.3% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,435,000 after buying an additional 5,707 shares during the period. Finally, Smart Money Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in 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.