The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.36.

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 303,748 shares of company stock valued at $20,677,431 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $63.21 on Wednesday. Coca-Cola has a one year low of $56.60 and a one year high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

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.