CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 1.1% After Insider Selling

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) were down 1.1% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $78.56 and last traded at $79.32. Approximately 19,948,794 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 19,471,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.22.

Specifically, CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $5,833,593.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 279,917 shares in the company, valued at $22,538,916.84. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.16, for a total value of $1,603,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 57,532 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,765.12. This represents a 25.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 99,437 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.42, for a total value of $7,996,723.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 410,550 shares in the company, valued at $33,016,431. The trade was a 19.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on KO. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CocaCola from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on CocaCola from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $84.33.

CocaCola News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major brokerages maintain a favorable stance on KO, with a consensus “Buy” helping underpin investor confidence and limiting downside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: KO continues to be featured in dividend‑focused lists and “Dividend Kings” roundups, reinforcing demand from income and retirement investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca‑Cola FEMSA proposed a quarterly dividend schedule for 2026 — positive for the system’s franchise stability but only indirectly relevant to KO PLC’s share price. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes KO’s long dividend streak and a new IR chief, fueling a valuation debate that keeps the stock on income investors’ watchlists but doesn’t act as an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares (~$5.8M at ~$80.52), trimming his holding ~20% — a tangible negative that often pressures sentiment and likely contributed to intraday weakness. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports show multiple senior executives unloading stock, amplifying investor concern about insider conviction and near‑term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/commentary pieces flag weaknesses in earnings quality and question the company’s decentralization plan and its implications for dividend/risk profile — these raise longer‑term execution concerns. Read More. Read More.

CocaCola Trading Down 1.6%

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 business’s 50-day moving average is $74.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.01. The firm has a market cap of $335.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. CocaCola had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 27.34%.The company had revenue of $11.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. CocaCola’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CocaCola’s payout ratio is currently 67.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,996,519,000 after purchasing an additional 6,241,163 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in CocaCola by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,051,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,086,000 after acquiring an additional 57,407 shares in the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. boosted its position in CocaCola by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 185,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,269,000 after acquiring an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 10,408,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,311,000 after acquiring an additional 198,886 shares during the period. Finally, Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 69,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,609,000 after acquiring an additional 32,478 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.