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

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reissued a hold rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $71.86 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.85. The company has a market cap of $309.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total value of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter worth about $102,604,000. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 17,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,421,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 191.1% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 111,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after buying an additional 73,434 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.