UBS Group Lowers Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $72.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at UBS Group from $82.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.63% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on KO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.60.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $62.27. The stock had a trading volume of 8,349,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,486,138. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $62.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.