CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 1.7% on Insider Selling

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)’s stock price fell 1.7% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $80.15 and last traded at $80.21. 16,014,492 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 19,406,693 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.56.

Specifically, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.16, for a total transaction of $1,603,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 57,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,765.12. This trade represents a 25.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 99,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.42, for a total transaction of $7,996,723.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 410,550 shares in the company, valued at $33,016,431. This represents a 19.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In other CocaCola news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.60, for a total transaction of $1,209,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 173,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,002,476.80. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $87.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $84.33.

CocaCola Stock Down 1.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.82. The firm has a market cap of $344.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm had revenue of $11.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. CocaCola’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its position in CocaCola by 438.8% in the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in CocaCola by 1,081.8% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About CocaCola

The Coca‑Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca‑Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca‑Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca‑Cola, Diet Coke, Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.