Insider Selling: CocaCola (NYSE:KO) EVP Sells 23,556 Shares of Stock

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) EVP Nancy Quan sold 23,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $1,872,702.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $17,754,735. This represents a 9.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

CocaCola Trading Down 1.5%

KO traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $76.91. 10,834,908 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,305,365. The stock has a market capitalization of $330.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.35. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $65.35 and a one year high of $82.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.46.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $11.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. CocaCola’s quarterly revenue 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 forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is 67.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CocaCola by 438.8% in the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the second quarter worth $26,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1,081.8% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Several major brokerages maintain Buy/Overweight ratings and have raised price targets, which helps underpin investor confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend lift: Coca?Cola recently increased its quarterly payout (supports income investors and long?term demand for the shares). Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Margin story: Analysts highlight KO’s push on digital transformation across marketing, supply chain and analytics as a potential driver of long?term margin expansion. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Media attention/trending coverage: KO is being widely covered in dividend and trending stock roundups — this keeps the name visible to retail and income investors but is not an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Partner news: Coca?Cola FEMSA proposed a quarterly dividend — positive for the system’s franchise stability but has limited direct impact on KO’s share price. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning: Large holders (Vanguard, State Street, etc.) remain heavily invested, which can dampen volatility over time even as insiders trade. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO selling: CEO James Quincey sold 250,688 shares (~$79.14 avg), a large reduction in his stake — this kind of high?profile insider sale is likely the dominant driver of intraday weakness. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CFO selling: CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares (and previously sold more in late Feb), reducing his holdings materially — further negative signaling to the market. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider sales: Other insiders (e.g., Bruno Pietracci) have also sold shares this week, adding to investor concern about insider conviction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings quality flagged: Analysts have published pieces questioning earnings quality despite an EPS beat, which can amplify caution among value and fundamental investors. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on CocaCola from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on CocaCola from $88.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.33.

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.