Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $78.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $73.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.00% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:KO traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $72.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,047,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,088,603. The firm has a market cap of $311.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. Coca-Cola has a fifty-two week low of $51.55 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $27,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently 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.