Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 0.5% on Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price shot up 0.5% during trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $73.00 to $78.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $72.24 and last traded at $71.74. 2,051,649 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 13,094,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.41.

KO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lisa Chang sold 58,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.51, for a total value of $3,981,938.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,074,330.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $309.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.60%.

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.