Coca-Cola Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Options trading was unusually active: Investors bought 60,740 Coca-Cola call options on Friday, about 18% above the typical daily volume.
• Quarterly results topped estimates: Coca-Cola reported EPS of $0.91 versus the $0.88 consensus and revenue of $13.35 billion, up 7.2% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remained favorable: The stock carried a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $97.26; several firms recently raised their targets.

Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 60,740 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 18% compared to the typical daily volume of 51,685 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Freedom Broker lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.26.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded up $1.74 on Friday, hitting $99.18. 8,562,802 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,988,432. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $90.62 and a 200-day moving average of $83.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Coca-Cola has a 52 week low of $67.27 and a 52 week high of $99.30. The stock has a market cap of $426.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.28.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 28.65%. The company had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total transaction of $10,126,419.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,761,319.45. This represents a 72.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $4,519,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,186,798.70. This represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 249,498 shares of company stock valued at $23,025,238 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter worth $27,000. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Atomic Invest LLC grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Coca-Cola News

Here's some of the latest news about KO:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors traded 60,740 call options on Friday, 18% above typical volume. This may indicate increased bullish positioning, though options activity alone does not predict the stock’s direction.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2026 EPS estimates for Coca-Cola, a favorable analyst signal. FY2026 EPS Estimates for Coca-Cola Lifted by Zacks Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s long dividend-growth record may appeal to income-focused investors. Separately, Zacks trimmed its Q1 2028 EPS estimate by one cent, to $0.94, so analyst revisions are not uniformly positive. Coca-Cola analyst estimate update

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company NYSE: KO is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands. The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.

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