Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 0.4% After Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 0.4% on Friday 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 $70.03 and last traded at $69.81. 5,172,124 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 16,329,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.50.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on KO. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised 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 Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.82.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter worth about $500,192,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $297.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $63.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

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 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 earnings per share 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.