BNP Paribas Reiterates "Outperform" Rating for CocaCola (NYSE:KO)

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by BNP Paribas in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $83.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas' price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.22% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CocaCola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.07.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of CocaCola stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $69.04. The company had a trading volume of 7,585,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,367,967. The stock has a market cap of $297.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.23. CocaCola has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. CocaCola's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CocaCola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 205,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Republic Capital LLC grew its stake in CocaCola by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC grew its stake in CocaCola by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in CocaCola by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBA Advisors LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

About CocaCola

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.