Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Research Coverage Started at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.83.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $63.93 on Monday. Coca-Cola has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $275.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.71.

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 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 business had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.