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

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at UBS Group from $82.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.63% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on KO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.60.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $62.27. The stock had a trading volume of 8,349,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,486,138. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 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.