Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 1% on Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was up 1% during trading on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $70.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $66.89 and last traded at $66.50. Approximately 3,953,027 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 12,804,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.81.

KO has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.20.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 841,588 shares of company stock worth $568,972,027. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $286.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $63.34 and its 200 day moving average is $61.41.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.49% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

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.