CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Trading 1.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $82.33 and last traded at $82.1860. 11,904,097 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 17,282,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.17.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett reportedly said Coca-Cola remains one of his preferred businesses, reinforcing the company’s reputation as a durable, high-quality consumer staple and potentially supporting investor confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighting Coca-Cola as a top dividend stock and a favorite among large investors may help reinforce the stock’s defensive, income-oriented appeal. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage ahead of Q2 earnings suggests Wall Street is watching for pricing strength and margin gains, which could support the stock if Coca-Cola beats expectations again. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles simply preview Coca-Cola’s upcoming results and key metrics, indicating investor focus is centered on the earnings release rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market commentary noted Coca-Cola underperformed the broader market in the latest session, reflecting near-term selling pressure on the shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some analyst-style pieces argue investors could do better in other dividend stocks or Pepsico, which may create mild competition for Coca-Cola among income-focused buyers. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on CocaCola from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.33.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.3%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $353.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.34.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total transaction of $2,000,505.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 157,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,128,734. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. The trade was a 78.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CocaCola by 438.8% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1,081.8% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.