John Murphy Sells 99,437 Shares of CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Stock

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) CFO John Murphy sold 99,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.42, for a total value of $7,996,723.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 410,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,016,431. This trade represents a 19.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE KO traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.37. 7,163,464 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,932,945. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.80 and a 200 day moving average of $70.74. The company has a market cap of $349.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $65.35 and a 12-month high of $81.69.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm had revenue of $11.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The business’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, equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is 67.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. Barclays boosted their price target on CocaCola from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $84.33.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CocaCola by 1.7% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 2.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 42.3% in the third quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 185,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,269,000 after acquiring an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 10,408,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,311,000 after purchasing an additional 198,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola by 88.9% during the third quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 69,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,609,000 after purchasing an additional 32,478 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple near?term and multi?year EPS estimates for KO (Q1/Q2 FY2026–FY2028 and FY2026–FY2027 upgrades), signaling improving analyst expectations for earnings growth and supporting valuation. Zacks Research estimate updates
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend?focused coverage named Coca?Cola among safe, long?running dividend payers, reinforcing income investor demand for KO given its long dividend history and defensive consumer?staples status. 5 US Blue Chip Giants That Have Paid Dividends for Over 100 Years
• Positive Sentiment: Additional media recommended several of Warren Buffett’s high?quality dividend names as defensive buys amid market uncertainty; Coca?Cola’s inclusion in such lists can attract long?term and yield?seeking flows. Is the Warren Buffett Correction Coming? Buy His 4 Safest Dividend Stocks Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Swire Pacific restructured a planned disposal involving its Coca?Cola Vietnam stake; the transaction is regional and goes through corporate ownership channels (share deal), so material impact on KO’s consolidated results is limited — watch for further details on timing/terms. Swire Pacific reshapes Vietnam Coca?Cola stake sale
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest in KO rose meaningfully in February (~21.5% increase to ~41.2M shares as of Feb 13), which could add downward pressure or volatility if shorts increase activity or if a squeeze/reversal occurs — monitor volume and investor flows.

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.