Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO)

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 168,437 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 142% compared to the typical volume of 69,540 call options.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,946 shares in the company, valued at $19,884,668.76. This represents a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total value of $4,335,629.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of company stock worth $29,923,985 in the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 361,200,808 shares of the company's stock worth $25,869,202,000 after buying an additional 1,114,422 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock worth $4,617,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,569,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,402,151,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 52.7% in 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 period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,802,296 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811,756 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.94. The stock had a trading volume of 17,424,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,884,646. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.56 and a 200-day moving average of $67.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $305.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.46. Coca-Cola has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. The firm's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Coca-Cola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Coca-Cola 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.