JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $68.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $65.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on KO. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $62.18 on Wednesday. Coca-Cola has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month 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 market cap of $268.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.06.

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

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was 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. Insiders sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.2% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.6% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 10.3% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after acquiring an additional 5,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smart Money Group LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.