Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.31.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO opened at $67.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) 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 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. On average, analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth $500,192,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $269,382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.