Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday. The company traded as high as $95.37 and last traded at $95.4130, with a volume of 8,318,569 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.26.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 28.65%. The business had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Sanket Ray sold 9,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $861,367.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 62,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,372,082.50. This trade represents a 13.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,761,319.45. This represents a 72.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 171,323 shares of company stock valued at $15,507,286. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Atomic Invest LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 38.7% during the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands.

The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.

The Coca-Cola Company serves consumers in more than 200 countries and territories through a system that includes company-operated operations, independent bottling partners, distributors, retailers, and food-service providers.