Barclays Raises Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $69.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

KO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of KO traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $62.17. 11,628,675 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,782,690. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $268.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.25.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently 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.