Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $73.00 to $76.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.78% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on KO. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of KO traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.53. The stock had a trading volume of 10,794,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,428,219. 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 cap of $312.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $70.86 and its 200 day moving average is $66.53. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $60.62 and a 52-week high of $74.38.

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

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Chang sold 13,445 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $961,317.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,769,334. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after buying an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811,756 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Coca-Cola

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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