Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $97.49 and last traded at $97.4950, with a volume of 7,591,631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.91.

Coca-Cola News Summary

These are some of the KO news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors traded 60,740 call options on Friday, 18% above typical volume. This may indicate increased bullish positioning, though options activity alone does not predict the stock’s direction.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2026 EPS estimates for Coca-Cola, a favorable analyst signal. FY2026 EPS Estimates for Coca-Cola Lifted by Zacks Research
• Negative Sentiment: KO’s recent 52-week high and premium valuation may leave less room for gains if growth disappoints; recent coverage flags valuation as a reason for caution.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective (up from $83.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.26.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.8%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $90.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.18. The company has a market capitalization of $426.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 28.65% and a return on equity of 38.79%. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 62.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Beatriz Perez sold 67,548 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.91, for a total transaction of $6,410,980.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,226,221.48. The trade was a 29.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,761,319.45. This trade represents a 72.92% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 249,498 shares of company stock valued at $23,025,238 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,090,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,646,000 after purchasing an additional 32,723 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 402.3% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 163,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,052,000 after acquiring an additional 130,746 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 68.5% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 218,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,733,000 after acquiring an additional 88,690 shares during the period. Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $12,905,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 439.5% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 17,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 14,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands. The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.