Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Hsbc Global Res

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

Several other research firms have also commented on KO. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Coca-Cola from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.1 %

KO opened at $71.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.85. Coca-Cola has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola 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 value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $15,968,095. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $1,321,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth $102,604,000. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 17,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $7,421,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 191.1% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 73,434 shares in the last quarter. 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.