Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 1.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) rose 1.8% during trading on Thursday after Cfra Research upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $72.68 and last traded at $72.95. 5,371,652 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 15,326,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.68.

KO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 price target 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $74.59.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $314.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a PEG 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average of $66.39.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio is 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.