Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on CocaCola (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Coca-Cola saw unusually heavy options activity on Wednesday, with investors buying 64,672 call options, about 24% above the stock’s typical daily volume.
• Insiders recently sold shares, including EVP Nancy Quan and Chairman James Quincey, though the transactions were largely tied to tax withholding and a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan.
• Analysts remain constructive on KO, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and average target of $86.87.

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 64,672 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 24% compared to the typical daily volume of 51,994 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total transaction of $2,559,411.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,842,608.29. This represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 875,921 shares of company stock valued at $69,831,810. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in CocaCola by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in CocaCola by 450.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 39,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,800,000 after acquiring an additional 32,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in CocaCola by 548.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,063 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.87.

More CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America flagged Coca-Cola as a stock to watch into the 2026 World Cup, saying beverage volumes could rise as global event demand boosts consumption. The World Cup Is Here: Analyst Names One Beverage Stock To Watch
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Coca-Cola’s strong Q1 performance, including better-than-expected earnings, revenue growth, pricing power, and volume gains, reinforcing the view that KO can keep growing even in an inflationary environment. Coca-Cola's Inflation Balancing Act: Price Increases vs. Volume
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles continue to frame KO as a Dividend King, noting its long streak of dividend increases and reliable income profile, which supports demand from dividend investors. 1 Plain-As-Day Dividend King to Buy and Never Sell That Has Increased Its Payout for 64 Consecutive Years
• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s launch of BodyArmor Fit shows it is expanding further into the “better-for-you” beverage category, which could open additional growth avenues beyond traditional soda. Coca-Cola launches BodyArmor Fit as it branches out in the 'better-for-you' category
• Neutral Sentiment: Chairman James Quincey and EVP Jennifer Mann disclosed share sales, but both were pre-arranged 10b5-1 transactions tied to tax withholding on equity awards, making them less alarming than discretionary insider selling.

CocaCola Price Performance

CocaCola stock traded up $2.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $83.66. 11,434,509 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,804,494. CocaCola has a 12 month low of $65.35 and a 12 month high of $83.85. The business's 50-day moving average is $78.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued 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. CocaCola had a return on equity of 40.55% and a net margin of 27.80%.The firm had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CocaCola will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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