CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Buy" from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.71.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

CocaCola Stock Performance

KO opened at $69.88 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $300.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $70.71 and its 200 day moving average is $69.17. CocaCola has a 12-month low of $60.62 and a 12-month high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 45.49%. The firm's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that CocaCola will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is currently 81.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company's stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company's stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in CocaCola by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 19,102 shares of the company's stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,843 shares of the company's stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 3,426 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at $718,000. Institutional investors 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.

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