CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 2.7% – Should You Buy?
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyShares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) shot up 2.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $82.81 and last traded at $82.63. 53,182,893 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 205% from the average session volume of 17,424,189 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.42.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays raised 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 began coverage on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.
Read Our Latest Research Report on CocaCola
CocaCola Price Performance
The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $355.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.24.
CocaCola (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The business had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.
CocaCola Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.
Insider Activity at CocaCola
In other news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 157,400 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at 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 stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. This represents a 12.40% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its position in CocaCola by 438.8% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the first quarter worth $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in CocaCola in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola by 1,081.8% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.