CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 1.6% After Insider Selling

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)’s stock price dropped 1.6% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $77.75 and last traded at $78.07. Approximately 19,367,964 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 19,475,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.34.

Specifically, CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 57,532 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,765.12. This trade represents a 25.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 99,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 410,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on CocaCola from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $87.00 price objective on CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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 view—KO has a consensus “Buy” from analysts, which supports investor confidence and can cushion selling pressure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend support: KO continues to be highlighted in dividend-income lists and was named a top Dividend King to buy, reinforcing its appeal to income-focused investors; MarketBeat coverage also notes a recent quarterly dividend increase, which helps underpin long-term demand. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca?Cola FEMSA proposed a 2026 ordinary dividend payable quarterly—positive for the system’s partner stability but only indirectly relevant to KO PLC’s share moves. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of KO’s long dividend streak and a new investor?relations chief has reopened the valuation debate—keeps the stock in focus for income investors but isn’t an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares (~$80.5 avg), trimming his holding by ~20.6%; large, recent insider sales are likely the biggest near?term pressure on the stock’s intraday weakness. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider unloading: reporting shows other top executives have trimmed stakes, which amplifies negative sentiment and raises questions about timing of disposals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings-quality concerns: analyst pieces flag that revenue missed expectations and that underlying earnings quality still has issues—this reduces near-term conviction for some investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Corporate structure questions: reporting on planned decentralization has sparked fresh debate about KO’s dividend and risk profile, which can increase uncertainty among income investors. Read More.

CocaCola Trading Down 1.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $335.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.35. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $74.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.96.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The business 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter 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 research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in CocaCola by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 34,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,381,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at $415,000. Stenger Family Office LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 162.7% during the fourth quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC now owns 37,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,617,000 after acquiring an additional 23,181 shares during the period. EJMK Ventures LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Finally, Targeted Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter worth about $1,005,000. Hedge funds and other 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.