Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Cut to $73.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $74.00 to $73.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,138,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,253,075. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. Coca-Cola has a one year low of $55.10 and a one year high of $73.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.02. The stock has a market cap of $288.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.54%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $1,274,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 319,005 shares of company stock worth $22,198,147. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.0% in the first quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 8,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust grew its position in Coca-Cola by 19.8% during the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 27,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,712,000 after buying an additional 4,631 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 66.2% during the first quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 8,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,576 shares during the period. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 98,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Coca-Cola

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.