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

Key Points

• On Tuesday, Coca-Cola saw a significant spike in activity, with 88,270 call options traded, marking a 60% increase over its average daily volume.
• The stock recently traded at $71.22, with a market capitalization of $306.51 billion and a current ratio of 1.21.
• An upcoming quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share will be paid to investors of record on December 1st, representing a yield of 2.9%.

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 88,270 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 60% compared to the average daily volume of 55,068 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fourteen have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.23.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO traded up $2.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.22. The stock had a trading volume of 33,630,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,564,499. The company's 50-day moving average price is $67.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.70. The company has a market capitalization of $306.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. CocaCola has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CocaCola will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.34%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 209,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,846,270,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,508,657,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in CocaCola by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,447,430 shares of the company's stock worth $3,398,185,000 after acquiring an additional 16,383,870 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $642,183,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in CocaCola by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company's stock worth $25,996,519,000 after acquiring an additional 6,241,163 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CocaCola Company Profile

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.

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