CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Coca-Cola shares rose about 1% after JPMorgan lifted its price target from $85 to $90 and kept an overweight rating. The move came amid broader analyst optimism around the stock.
• Several other firms also turned more bullish, including TD Cowen, UBS, and Bank of America, with Bank of America raising its target to $95. Overall, analysts now have a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $88.06.
• Coca-Cola’s recent results and income profile remain supportive: it beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and it just paid a $0.53 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.5% yield. The company’s second-quarter outlook also appears solid, with analysts citing resilient demand and steady volume trends.

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1% during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $90.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. CocaCola traded as high as $83.74 and last traded at $83.4930. 10,443,347 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 17,406,557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.63.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on KO. TD Cowen increased their price target on CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $88.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Fifteen 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $34,960,398.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and Bank of America expect Coca-Cola to deliver a solid second quarter, citing steady volume trends, resilient demand, and a likely modest earnings beat versus Street estimates. Coca-Cola expected to post solid second-quarter results as analysts highlight resilient demand
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on KO to $95 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside. Benzinga report on Bank of America target raise
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lifted its price target on Coca-Cola to $90 and maintained an overweight rating, reflecting continued optimism about the company’s outlook. Tickerreport.com report on JPMorgan target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Marriott announced a global beverage partnership making Coca-Cola its primary beverage provider across guestrooms, restaurants, lounges, and events, which could broaden KO’s reach in hospitality. Marriott’s Global Beverage Deal Could Be A Game Changer For Coca-Cola (KO)
• Neutral Sentiment: Some recent commentary focused on whether KO is getting expensive after its run and on dividend-related concerns, but these pieces did not identify a new company-specific negative catalyst. Is Coca-Cola NYSE: KO Too Rich After Its Run?
• Negative Sentiment: One article noted Coca-Cola’s shares recently slipped despite broader market gains, suggesting some near-term profit-taking after the stock’s strong run. Coca-Cola (KO) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd acquired a new position in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at $552,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 111,598 shares of the company's stock worth $7,802,000 after acquiring an additional 30,786 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 16.4% in the third quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 710,000 shares of the company's stock worth $47,087,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in CocaCola by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,852,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,330,000 after purchasing an additional 31,694 shares during the period. Finally, Greenberg Financial Group acquired a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $507,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $359.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.34. The firm's 50-day moving average is $80.70 and its 200 day moving average is $77.12.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

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.

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