Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.5% on Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s share price shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $73.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $69.61 and last traded at $69.08. 7,274,434 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 16,119,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.71.

A number of other research firms have also commented on KO. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $58,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,852,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,123,000 after purchasing an additional 70,604 shares during the period. Acorn Creek Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth about $207,000. CCG Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $296.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.76 and its 200-day moving average is $66.33.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.