CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $91.23 and last traded at $90.9430, with a volume of 2704421 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KO. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of CocaCola from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price target on CocaCola in a report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $89.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, HSBC lowered CocaCola from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.76.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.95 and a 200 day moving average of $80.19. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $393.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.33.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. This represents a 78.03% 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, insider Sanket Ray sold 9,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $861,367.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 62,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,372,082.50. The trade was a 13.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,433,535 shares of company stock valued at $121,922,698 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 450.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 39,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after acquiring an additional 32,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 548.2% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. 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.