Evercore ISI Boosts Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target to $70.00

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its target price lifted by Evercore ISI from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on KO. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.27.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $62.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $268.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.06. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 323,107 shares of company stock worth $19,657,742 in the last ninety days. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 5,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the first quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 30,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.