Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO – Get Free Report) shares rose 1.4% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $95.08 and last traded at $94.11. 18,337,089 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 16,908,525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.82.

Trending Headlines about Coca-Cola

Here are the key news stories impacting Coca-Cola this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Better-than-expected earnings and higher guidance: Coca-Cola’s third-quarter results exceeded Wall Street expectations, supported by 5% unit case-volume growth, consumer recruitment, affordability initiatives, and disciplined execution. Management now expects comparable EPS to increase at least 11% in 2026. Coca-Cola’s Q3 earnings call: our top 5 analyst questions
  • Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is reinforcing the rally: TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Freedom Broker all recently raised their Coca-Cola price targets or indicated potential appreciation. Jim Cramer also recommended buying KO after the earnings beat. Coca-Cola stock gets price target boost from JPMorgan Chase
  • Positive Sentiment: Defensive dividend appeal: Coca-Cola continues to be highlighted as a dependable “Dividend King,” with a long record of annual payout increases and strong brand durability—features attracting income investors amid broader market uncertainty. No Tricks, Just Treats: 3 Dividend Stocks With Payouts You Can Trust
  • Positive Sentiment: Long-term emerging-market opportunity: Coca-Cola’s distribution network and local brands provide room for growth in developing markets, where a large share of beverage purchases remains untapped. The company is also considering a 2027 IPO for its Indian bottling arm, potentially creating capital and valuation benefits. Too Late to Buy Coca-Cola? 1 Reason It Isn’t.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. CICC Research upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Coca-Cola from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.26.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $404.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.07.

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

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.35%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $4,519,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,186,798.70. The trade was a 18.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,365 shares in the company, valued at $3,761,319.45. The trade was a 72.92% 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. Insiders sold a total of 171,323 shares of company stock worth $15,507,286 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KO. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,958,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,735,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939,673 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 36,354,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,954,523,000 after acquiring an additional 162,097 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Coca-Cola by 9.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,053,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,361,198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439,026 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,822,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,495,000 after purchasing an additional 235,785 shares during the period. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 15,272,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,241,223,000 after purchasing an additional 113,599 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

The Coca-Cola Company serves consumers in more than 200 countries and territories through a system that includes company-operated operations, independent bottling partners, distributors, retailers, and food-service providers.

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