CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 46,168,060 shares, a decrease of 14.0% from the March 15th total of 53,713,859 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 16,423,528 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.8%

KO opened at $75.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $326.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.36. CocaCola has a 52 week low of $65.35 and a 52 week high of $82.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.93.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.04 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 27.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CocaCola will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is 69.74%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 23,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $1,872,702.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,754,735. This represents a 9.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 23,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $1,847,595.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,383.25. The trade was a 57.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 892,925 shares of company stock valued at $70,254,796 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 450.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 39,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after buying an additional 32,392 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in CocaCola by 548.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley set a $88.00 price target on CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price target on CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.00.

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.