Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $74.00 to $73.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.77% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on KO. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.07.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of KO opened at $61.98 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.37. The stock has a market cap of $267.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,463,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,475 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,565 shares during the last quarter. 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.