Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $73.00 to $80.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price target points to a potential upside of 12.36% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $71.20 on Friday. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $306.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. On average, analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total value of $3,882,079.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 232,646 shares of company stock valued at $16,515,469. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $35,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 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.