Monica Howard Douglas Sells 20,000 Shares of CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Stock

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.16, for a total transaction of $1,603,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,765.12. This represents a 25.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of CocaCola stock opened at $81.46 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $65.35 and a 1-year high of $82.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $350.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.36.

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

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is 67.11%.

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call buying — Investors purchased ~61,806 call options on KO Friday (about 17% above a typical day), signaling short‑term bullish positioning that can amplify upside into upcoming catalysts.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised near‑term and multi‑year EPS forecasts — Analysts lifted Q1/Q2 and FY2026–FY2028 estimates, nudging forward EPS momentum and supporting a higher valuation multiple for KO.
• Neutral Sentiment: Defensive rotation / momentum into blue‑chips — MarketBeat highlighted KO as part of a broader move into defensive, dividend‑paying names as tech cools; that thematic flow helps demand for KO but is macro‑driven. MarketBeat Week in Review
• Neutral Sentiment: Swire Pacific restructuring of its Vietnam Coca‑Cola stake — Corporate-level changes in regional ownership could alter local distribution/partner dynamics; impact on KO is indirect and longer term. Swire Pacific update
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive press on KO as a long‑running dividend name — Inclusion in lists of century‑plus dividend payers/reliable blue‑chips supports buy‑and‑hold interest but is a slow, steady demand factor. 247WallSt dividend article
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling — Several executives disclosed recent share sales (CFO John Murphy sold ~99,437 shares; EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 20,000; EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold multiple blocks). Large insider dispositions can weigh on sentiment even when company fundamentals remain intact. SEC filings: CFO Form 4 EVP Monica Form 4 EVP Beatriz Form 4

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on KO. Truist Financial set a $85.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Instrumental Wealth LLC grew its stake in CocaCola by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Instrumental Wealth LLC now owns 5,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 12,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 461,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,243,000 after purchasing an additional 98,965 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 119,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,342,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 25,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About CocaCola

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.