Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s stock price rose 1.8% on Friday after Cfra Research upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $73.43 and last traded at $72.99. Approximately 20,745,798 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 35% from the average daily volume of 15,392,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.68.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.59.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total value of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $1,582,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 132,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 893,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,610,000 after purchasing an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average of $66.39. 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 company has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.59%.

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.