Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Given New $69.00 Price Target at Barclays

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target raised by Barclays from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on KO. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.17. 11,628,675 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,782,690. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57. Coca-Cola has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.12.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total value of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock valued at $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently 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.