UBS Group Raises Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $72.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $62.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.04. Coca-Cola has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.06.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.