Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Cut to $65.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on KO. Citigroup upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $60.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $59.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.56. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $3,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,255,000 after buying an additional 43,680 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 385.3% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 15,110 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,115,000 after buying an additional 301,804 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.