CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $85.69 and last traded at $84.6490, with a volume of 363834 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.92.

Trending Headlines about 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $88.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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 market capitalization of $350.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $81.25 and its 200 day moving average is $77.63.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $34,960,398.48. Following the sale, the chairman owned 122,833 shares in the company, valued at $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 CocaCola stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total value of $2,559,411.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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