CocaCola Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KO)

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 78,623 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 32% compared to the average volume of 59,652 call options.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE KO traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.18. 12,568,414 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,367,130. CocaCola has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $297.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.45.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 25.89%. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CocaCola will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. CocaCola's payout ratio is 72.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $19,197,000.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,884,668.76. This trade represents a 49.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 187,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,148.92. The trade was a 24.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 415,387 shares of company stock valued at $29,923,985 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in CocaCola by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Cfra Research upgraded CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.21.

About CocaCola

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.