The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.50.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $62.26 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hiley Hunt Wealth Management acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $219,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 9.4% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,027,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,689,000 after buying an additional 174,948 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.6% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 9,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 19,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during 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.