Brokerages Set The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Price Target at $75.59

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.59.

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $72.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,017,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,462,934. The company's 50-day moving average is $70.94 and its 200-day moving average is $66.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $311.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

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.