Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an outperform rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Cfra reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

NYSE KO opened at $71.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Coca-Cola has a twelve month low of $51.55 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.85. The firm has a market cap of $309.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,968,095. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 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.