CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Down 2.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) traded down 2.7% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $92.64 and last traded at $92.7710. Approximately 18,692,382 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 16,879,254 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.34.

More CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s planned return as the fountain beverage supplier for approximately 3,600 KFC restaurants beginning in 2027 could support U.S. fountain volume and strengthen its distribution footprint. Coca-Cola Looks Fairly Valued After KFC Win
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Coca-Cola to benefit from pricing power, organic revenue growth and margin expansion in its third-quarter results. The company has exceeded earnings-per-share estimates for six consecutive quarters, with results scheduled before the market opens on October 27. Coca-Cola Q3 Earnings Preview
• Positive Sentiment: The company completed a global marketing review and retained WPP Open X as its global media partner outside several markets, while selecting Omnicom for additional work. Coca-Cola said data, technology and artificial intelligence will help drive future marketing capabilities. Coca-Cola Selects Agency Partners
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola has joined the roughly $400 billion market-capitalization group, reflecting investor demand for its defensive profile, strong brand, global distribution and dividend income. However, the comparison articles emphasize that substantial prior gains may limit near-term upside. Coca-Cola Joins the $400 Billion Club
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations are high ahead of earnings: Coca-Cola’s shares have posted a significant year-to-date advance, leaving less room for an earnings or outlook disappointment. Analysts also identify weak volumes in key markets as a continuing risk. Coca-Cola Shows Mixed Trends Before Q3 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm is investigating potential class-action claims related to a reported Coca-Cola customer-data breach. The scope and financial impact remain unclear, but the development introduces legal, reputational and cybersecurity risk. Coca-Cola Data Breach Investigation

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CocaCola from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $88.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. CICC Research increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $88.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.27.

CocaCola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.32.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 28.56% and a return on equity of 39.38%. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.30 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,761,319.45. This represents a 72.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $4,519,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,186,798.70. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 926,620 shares of company stock worth $83,075,714. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Atomic Invest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 38.7% in the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Timbuktu Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in CocaCola during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CocaCola

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.

The Coca-Cola Company serves consumers in more than 200 countries and territories through a system that includes company-operated operations, independent bottling partners, distributors, retailers, and food-service providers.