CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 2.7% – Here’s Why

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) shares rose 2.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $82.81 and last traded at $82.63. Approximately 53,182,893 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 205% from the average daily volume of 17,424,189 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on KO shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

CocaCola Trading Up 2.7%

The company has a market cap of $355.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $79.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th 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 is Monday, June 15th. CocaCola’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total transaction of $2,559,411.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $18,074,096.90. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at about $552,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 111,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,802,000 after buying an additional 30,786 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,296,000 after buying an additional 22,444 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC increased its position in CocaCola by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 710,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,087,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in CocaCola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,852,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,330,000 after buying an additional 31,694 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.