Barclays Boosts Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $68.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target increased by Barclays from $66.00 to $68.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $67.18.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $58.14 on Friday. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,618 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 103,297.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,734,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,672,479,000 after buying an additional 57,678,466 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,808,056,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.