JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $72.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on KO. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $70.00.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.0 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $63.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.08. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $51.55 and a 1 year high of $64.36. The stock has a market cap of $274.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares in the company, valued at $13,644,979.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 822,284 shares of company stock valued at $567,718,040. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by 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.