Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Lowered to $65.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

KO has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $67.09.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.6 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $60.55 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $261.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. Coca-Cola has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 52,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $3,138,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,602,980. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 247,188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $15,063,636.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,968,753.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 375,407 shares of company stock valued at $22,795,742. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,808,056,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 11,138.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933,527 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at about $193,342,000. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,032,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,051,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 40,564,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,390,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,061 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.