Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Price Target Raised to $78.00 at Morgan Stanley

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on KO. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.31.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $68.73 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $62.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $296.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at $500,192,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,103,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.