CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.0769.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Friday, December 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,638,109.25. This trade represents a 26.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Manuel Arroyo sold 139,689 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.80, for a total value of $9,889,981.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,111,143.60. The trade was a 70.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 225,252 shares of company stock valued at $15,953,007 in the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Farmers National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 72,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,798,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 147.4% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 70,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,647,000 after buying an additional 41,748 shares in the last quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the third quarter worth about $409,000. Severin Investments LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 4.4% during the third quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 9,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in CocaCola by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 609,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,394,000 after buying an additional 13,743 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:KO opened at $70.61 on Thursday. CocaCola has a one year low of $60.62 and a one year high of $74.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. CocaCola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 27.34%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is 67.55%.

About CocaCola

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.