Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Lowered to $76.00 at Morgan Stanley

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.73% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.87.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Coca-Cola stock opened at $68.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $293.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.74 and its 200-day moving average is $65.96. Coca-Cola has a 12 month low of $55.10 and a 12 month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.