Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Raised to $86.00 at UBS Group

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $84.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.84% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on KO. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.18.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,678,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,281,434. Coca-Cola has a twelve month low of $60.62 and a twelve month high of $74.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $70.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.53. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $308.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,533,008.09. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after buying an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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