Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Cfra Research

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) was upgraded by equities researchers at Cfra Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

KO has been the topic of several other research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.8 %

Coca-Cola stock opened at $72.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. Coca-Cola has a 12 month low of $58.54 and a 12 month high of $73.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at $17,520,662.64. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 5.5% in the first quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $219,000. Berkshire Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter valued at $210,000. Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 76,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,515,000 after buying an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 33,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 7,793 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.