CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 1% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Coca-Cola's stock (NYSE: KO) increased by 1% to $66.79, with a trading volume of over 13 million shares, which is 22% lower than its average.
• Analysts set a consensus rating of "Buy" for Coca-Cola, with an average price target of $76.93, highlighting strong confidence in the stock's performance.
• The company reported earnings of $0.87 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.04, with a revenue of $12.50 billion, which was a 2.5% year-over-year increase.

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $67.26 and last traded at $66.79. 13,185,619 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 16,856,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KO. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Monday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.93.

CocaCola Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $287.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.43.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. CocaCola's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.970-2.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. This trade represents a 15.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the second quarter worth $3,846,270,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 52.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company's stock worth $3,398,185,000 after purchasing an additional 16,383,870 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter worth $642,183,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company's stock worth $25,996,519,000 after buying an additional 6,241,163 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola 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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