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

Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading 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 changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 16,329,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.50.

KO has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $989,000. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 12,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 18,408,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,148,609,000 after buying an additional 1,155,538 shares in the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 183.3% during the fourth quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 21,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after buying an additional 13,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 115,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,221,000 after purchasing an additional 11,705 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $300.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.36.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. Equities analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

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.