Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shares rose 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $69.09 and last traded at $68.93. Approximately 3,826,503 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 16,453,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 46,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 9,161 shares in the last quarter. Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,646,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $81,000. Amiral Gestion acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth $8,726,000. Finally, Michels Family Financial LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $534,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently 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.