CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Trading Up 2.9% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) rose 2.9% during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $84.95 and last traded at $84.8020. Approximately 17,845,928 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 17,351,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.45.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders 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 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.81.

CocaCola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.63. The company has a market cap of $350.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.34.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 40.55% and a net margin of 27.80%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Heavy call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for a rebound or expecting volatility around the stock. Traders bought 75,333 call options, well above the recent average. Quiver Quant article on Coca-Cola options activity and cyberattack
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted KO benefiting from its defensive profile as investors look for more stable dividend names ahead of earnings, which may be helping support interest in the stock despite the cybersecurity issue. Benzinga article on Coca-Cola stock movement
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola also announced a quarterly dividend, reinforcing its appeal as a high-quality income stock, though this is unlikely to be the main driver of today’s trading.
• Negative Sentiment: The fairlife cyberattack is the key negative catalyst, since it hit a growth brand and temporarily suspended U.S. production, raising fears of lost revenue and added recovery costs. Reuters article on fairlife production halt

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $7,946,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 181,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,412,772.64. This represents a 35.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,074,096.90. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 438.8% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola by 1,081.8% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.