StockNews.com Downgrades Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) to Hold

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on KO. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.09.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $63.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.28. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $64.36.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 42.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 8,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $561,812.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,621.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 180,838 shares of company stock worth $11,220,064 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. Motiv8 Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.7% in the first quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 12,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at about $2,108,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the first quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 121,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,460,000 after acquiring an additional 4,802 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 509,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,158,000 after acquiring an additional 19,985 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 39.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 366,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,433,000 after acquiring an additional 104,506 shares during the period. 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.