Analysts Set The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Target Price at $72.50

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.50.

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.7 %

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,941,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,973,826. The stock's fifty day moving average is $63.58 and its 200 day moving average is $66.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. Coca-Cola has a 1-year low of $57.93 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $18,383,000. Balentine LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,048,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 104.9% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,214 shares of the company's stock worth $8,351,000 after acquiring an additional 59,503 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 850,802 shares of the company's stock worth $61,122,000 after acquiring an additional 46,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 457,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 21,005 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.