Brokerages Set The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) PT at $73.82

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.82.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. Coca-Cola has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $64.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.44.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.54%.

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.