CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts remain broadly positive on Coca-Cola: Eighteen firms assign the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with 15 buys and three holds. The average 12-month price target is approximately $95.76, above the reported $88.53 opening price.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Coca-Cola reported adjusted EPS of $0.97 versus the $0.93 consensus and revenue of $13.37 billion, up 6.2% year over year. Strong volume growth and raised 2026 guidance supported several analyst price-target increases.
• Valuation and insider selling are key cautions: Shares trade near their 52-week high at roughly 27 times earnings, prompting HSBC to downgrade the stock to Hold. Insiders have also sold substantial shares, although several transactions were conducted under pre-arranged plans or to cover taxes.

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.7647.

Several research analysts have commented on KO shares. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price target on CocaCola in a research report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC lowered shares of CocaCola from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $104.00 price target on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.6%

KO opened at $88.53 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $81.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.30. CocaCola has a one year low of $65.35 and a one year high of $90.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.34.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.17 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 39.38% and a net margin of 28.56%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. Analysts anticipate that CocaCola will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. CocaCola's payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong second-quarter results remain the main catalyst. Coca-Cola reported adjusted EPS of $0.97, topping the $0.93 consensus, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year to $13.37 billion, ahead of the $13.17 billion estimate. Global unit-case volume increased 5%, and management raised its 2026 outlook, supporting expectations for continued earnings growth. Coca-Cola Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: World Cup marketing boosted demand. Management credited FIFA World Cup activation with helping deliver the company’s strongest quarterly volume growth in 17 years. Pricing, product mix, zero-sugar beverages and Fairlife also contributed to broad-based growth across regions. KO Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved. Jefferies raised its price target to $104, while TD Cowen and Citigroup moved to $100 and JPMorgan increased its target to $96. Argus also raised its target to $97 and assigned a Buy rating, reinforcing the bullish response to the earnings report.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fairlife’s ransomware disruption appears contained. A cyberattack shut down all four U.S. Fairlife plants for 11 days in July, but Coca-Cola said most production has resumed, reducing the risk of a prolonged supply or financial impact. Coca-Cola keeps beating its rivals, and Wall Street noticed
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is limiting additional upside. After a substantial 2026 rally and trading near its yearly high, Coca-Cola’s P/E near 27 has prompted caution. HSBC downgraded the stock to Hold, arguing that PepsiCo may offer better value.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales add a modest overhang. Chairman James Quincey sold roughly $47.5 million of shares, and insider Bruno Pietracci sold about $6.8 million. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, making them less concerning than discretionary selling but still a potential sentiment headwind.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total transaction of $2,000,505.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 157,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,128,734. This represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total value of $2,559,411.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. This represents 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 sold a total of 1,502,719 shares of company stock valued at $126,087,452 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 5.1% during the second quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,643 shares of the company's stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 11,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Eagle Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 120,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,807,000 after buying an additional 1,746 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its position in CocaCola by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 155,251 shares of the company's stock worth $12,617,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XP Advisory US Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter worth $119,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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