Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of CocaCola Call Options (NYSE:KO)

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 75,333 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 46% compared to the typical daily volume of 51,548 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 target price on CocaCola in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 100,000 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value 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. The trade was a 35.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total value of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,074,096.90. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KO. Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 438.8% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. bought a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter worth $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in CocaCola in the second quarter worth $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola by 1,081.8% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $81.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.63. The stock has a market cap of $350.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.34. CocaCola has a twelve month low of $65.35 and a twelve month high of $85.68.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 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 analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CocaCola will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

CocaCola News Roundup

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

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.