Insider Selling: CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Insider Sells 28,765 Shares of Stock

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) insider Bruno Pietracci sold 28,765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total transaction of $2,284,228.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of CocaCola stock traded down $1.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $76.89. The stock had a trading volume of 8,683,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,255,748. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.35 and a fifty-two week high of $82.00. The firm has a market cap of $330.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.04 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 27.34%.CocaCola’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.11%.

CocaCola News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca‑Cola increased its quarterly dividend (new $0.53/share), reinforcing its income‑stock appeal and supporting long‑term demand from yield‑oriented investors. Valuation Check / Dividend Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Major brokerages are largely positive: multiple firms have recent “Buy”/”Overweight” ratings and raised targets (consensus buy view), which helps underpin the stock. Brokerage Coverage Summary
• Positive Sentiment: Coca‑Cola is being highlighted in dividend‑king/retirement roundups as a stable long‑term income holding, likely supporting defensive fund flows. Fool: Dividend Kings
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other screens have KO trending among retail readers — this raises visibility but is more of a watchlist signal than an immediate catalyst. Zacks Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca‑Cola FEMSA (KOF) proposed a quarterly dividend — positive for the Coca‑Cola system but limited direct impact on KO PLC’s valuation. KOF Dividend Proposal
• Neutral Sentiment: Mention in pieces about Berkshire Hathaway and portfolio reshuffling keeps KO on investors’ radars but is informational rather than company‑specific news. MarketBeat: Berkshire Review
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling: CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares (~$5.8M at ~\$80.52), cutting his holding materially; large executive sales are a primary driver of the stock’s intraday weakness. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage raising questions on earnings quality and decentralization of the business suggests elevated execution and margin scrutiny that could pressure sentiment. Seeking Alpha: Earnings Quality
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term underperformance vs. peers noted by MarketWatch could attract relative‑performance selling from active managers. MarketWatch: Underperformance

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,996,519,000 after acquiring an additional 6,241,163 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in CocaCola by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,051,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,086,000 after acquiring an additional 57,407 shares during the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its stake in CocaCola by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 185,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,269,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 10,408,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,311,000 after purchasing an additional 198,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 88.9% during the third quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 69,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,609,000 after purchasing an additional 32,478 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $87.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.33.

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.