Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) hits new 52-week high after analyst upgrade

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report ) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley upped their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $78.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $71.50 and last traded at $71.48, with a volume of 1621842 shares traded. Shares previously closed at $70.84.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of The Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on The Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on The Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on The Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of The Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.73, according to MarketBeat.

Get the latest stock analysis on KO

Indoor activity

In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola 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 sale, the insider now 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 on the SEC’s website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,482 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $1,274,333.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,398,603.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available on the SEC’s website. Also, the majority shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s shares in a transaction that took place on Friday, July 5. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,056,426 shares of company stock worth $584,650,712 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s shares.

Institutional inputs and outputs

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its position in The Coca-Cola by 1.6% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.7% in the second quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the second quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 42,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. 70.26% of the shares are currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola stock up 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92, and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $307.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty-day moving average is $65.91, and its 200-day moving average is $62.80.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company’s revenue increased by 3.3% year-on-year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola announces dividends

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a dividend of $1.94 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

About Coca-Cola

(Get a free report)

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets and sells various non-alcoholic beverages worldwide. The company offers sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee and tea; juices, value-added dairy and plant-based beverages; and other drinks. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups for retailers such as restaurants and department stores.

Further reading

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