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

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.50.

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Apella Capital LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 1.4% during the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. CCG Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the third quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 15,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $60.71 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.57. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The firm has a market cap of $261.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

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.