Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Increased to $70.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $68.18.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $61.92 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 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.21 and a 200-day moving average of $59.04.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 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 firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 30,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,851,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is 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.