Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading 0.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded up 0.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $64.29 and last traded at $64.20. 3,850,089 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 15,074,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.31.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $296.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.32.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. FMR LLC raised its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $3,402,151,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.