CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Raised to $77.00

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) had its price target lifted by Barclays from $71.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on KO. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.31.

CocaCola Price Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $69.74 on Thursday. CocaCola has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.74. The firm has a market cap of $300.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.43.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The firm had revenue of $11.40 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CocaCola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 67.55%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,996,519,000 after acquiring an additional 6,241,163 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter worth $3,846,270,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in CocaCola by 52.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,185,000 after purchasing an additional 16,383,870 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in CocaCola by 6.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,889,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,212,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,794,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,281,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,930,170,000 after purchasing an additional 285,794 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola 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.