Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Upgraded by Cfra Research to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Cfra Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $74.59.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO opened at $72.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $58.54 and a 1 year high of $73.95. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $70.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.41. The firm has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 owns 52,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,337,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% during 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118,819 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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