CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) shares traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $82.00 and last traded at $81.4560. 28,398,525 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 46% from the average session volume of 19,416,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.50.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call buying: traders purchased ~61,806 call options Friday (?+17% vs. typical daily call volume), signaling short?term bullish bets and possible demand ahead of upcoming catalysts.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised near?term and multi?year EPS forecasts for KO (several quarters and FY2026–FY2028), which improves the company’s forward earnings outlook and supports valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market flow/context: commentary notes a defensive rotation into blue?chip names (MarketBeat highlighted KO’s strong February performance), suggesting macro fund flows into staples are helping the stock’s momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: Swire Pacific restructures planned disposal of a 30% Vietnam Coca?Cola stake via a share?deal — a regional partner/ownership update that could affect local operations but is not an immediate companywide driver. Swire Pacific reshapes Vietnam Coca?Cola stake sale
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling: multiple senior executives trimmed positions (CFO John Murphy sold ~99,437 shares at ~$80.42; EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 20,000 shares at ~$80.16; EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold ~36,326 shares across Feb. 25–26 at ~\$80.60–80.75). Large, clustered sales—especially by the CFO—can spook some investors even if they’re for diversification or liquidity. SEC filings: Murphy Form 4 Douglas Form 4 Perez Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose materially in February (~21.5% increase to ~41.19M shares). While shorts still represent ~1.0% of float and days?to?cover is modest (~1.8 days), the jump indicates more bearish positioning that could pressure shares if fundamentals disappoint.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $88.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial set a $85.00 target price on CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $87.00 price target on CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.33.

CocaCola Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.74. 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 has a market capitalization of $350.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. CocaCola had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 27.34%.The firm had revenue of $11.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 337,824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.10, for a total value of $26,046,230.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $26,410,296.60. This trade represents a 49.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 99,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.42, for a total value of $7,996,723.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 410,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,016,431. The trade was a 19.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 493,587 shares of company stock worth $38,577,228. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 438.8% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1,081.8% in the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.