CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 1.5% – Here’s Why

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)’s stock price shot up 1.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $73.06 and last traded at $72.9250. 18,004,357 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 18,690,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fourteen have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.08.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.5%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $313.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.39.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 27.34%.The company had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. CocaCola’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, EVP Manuel Arroyo sold 139,689 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.80, for a total transaction of $9,889,981.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,111,143.60. This trade represents a 70.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.17, for a total value of $2,250,751.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,894,396.10. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 211,704 shares of company stock valued at $15,005,595 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Bingham Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at $963,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 111,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,802,000 after buying an additional 30,786 shares in the last quarter. Stonehaven Wealth & Tax Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 102,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,176,000 after buying an additional 9,963 shares during the period. Finally, Cura Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $227,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Company Profile

The Coca‑Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca‑Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca‑Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca‑Cola, Diet Coke, Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.