Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 1.8% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $74.00 to $78.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $74.24 and last traded at $74.10. 3,126,282 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 15,341,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.77.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised Coca-Cola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $10,327,339.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. This trade represents a 29.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock worth $22,263,071 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rice Partnership LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,582,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 222.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 192,237 shares of the company's stock worth $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 132,701 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 893,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,610,000 after purchasing an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.52. The firm has a market cap of $309.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.59%.

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.