The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.59.

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 360.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 449.5% during the first quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $71.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.59. The firm has a market cap of $308.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Coca-Cola has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.60%.

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.