Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock.

KO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.83.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $63.93 on Monday. Coca-Cola has a 52 week low of $51.55 and a 52 week high of $64.36. The stock has a market cap of $275.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.74% and a net margin of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $3,551,903.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,962.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total transaction of $1,224,645.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 57,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $3,551,903.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 167,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,358,962.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,665 shares of company stock worth $13,995,465 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other 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.