Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 1.7% on Insider Selling

12 May 2025, 11:16 by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat Gem

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) shares fell 1.7% on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $68.70 and last traded at $69.30. 6,167,792 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 15,480,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.52.

Specifically, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 88,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $6,391,355.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,287.99. The trade was a 30.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. DZ Bank raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Stock Down 1.7%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Western Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the first quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 36,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth about $2,306,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth about $6,282,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 396,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,397,000 after acquiring an additional 22,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth about $227,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

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