CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $85.68 and last traded at $83.9960, with a volume of 17825219 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.96.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to favor Coca-Cola as a defensive consumer-staples name, with commentary highlighting strong year-to-date gains, consistent earnings beats, and “flight to quality” demand. Forget Coca-Cola, Choose Duke Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market coverage point to Coca-Cola’s steady growth profile and defensive appeal, which can help support the stock when investors rotate toward lower-volatility names. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Pullback Puts Defensive Appeal In Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Recent articles also highlight Coca-Cola’s new product launches and North American volume growth, reinforcing the company’s ability to drive demand even with mixed international trends. Coca-Cola launches 5 hard-to-find new flavors
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage ahead of earnings suggests Coca-Cola may be trading near record levels as investors anticipate another solid report later this month. Should You Buy Coca-Cola Stock Before July 28?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on performance comparisons and analyst sentiment, including a “Moderate Buy” average rating, but these appear more informational than stock-moving. CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s price cuts on Coca-Cola 24-packs have raised questions about KO’s pricing power and whether the stock is getting expensive after its recent run. Coca Cola (KO) Faces Walmart Price Cuts, Is It Still Overvalued?
• Negative Sentiment: A recent downgrade note and reports of softer global demand could create some caution, especially if investors worry North American growth may not fully offset international weakness. Coca-Cola: Steady Growth Wins The Race (Rating Downgrade)

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on CocaCola from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on CocaCola from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

CocaCola Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $361.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $80.46 and a 200 day moving average of $76.94.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 40.55% and a net margin of 27.80%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total transaction of $2,000,505.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 157,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,128,734. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total transaction of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $18,074,096.90. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola by 450.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 39,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 32,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in CocaCola by 548.2% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.