CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 1.8% – Time to Buy?

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) shares were up 1.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $90.76 and last traded at $90.3840. Approximately 15,969,195 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 17,187,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on KO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners set a $95.00 target price on CocaCola in a report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $104.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.76.

CocaCola Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $388.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.07.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 28.56% and a return on equity of 39.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.66%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, Chairman James Quincey sold 145,947 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $13,148,365.23. Following the sale, the chairman owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,066,024.97. This trade represents a 54.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 152,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.31, for a total value of $13,313,290.73. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 279,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,439,553.27. The trade was a 35.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 1,433,535 shares of company stock worth $121,922,698 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth about $3,865,807,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 867.2% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,432,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,954,000 after purchasing an additional 12,939,959 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1,206.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 10,641,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,913,000 after purchasing an additional 9,826,768 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,182,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,809,146,000 after purchasing an additional 9,078,447 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in CocaCola by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,573,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $879,015,000 after buying an additional 6,246,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Company Profile

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.