CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 3.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) were up 3.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $80.74 and last traded at $79.6260. Approximately 23,540,015 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 16,841,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.82.

More CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are rotating into defensive, dividend-paying stocks like Coca-Cola as market volatility increases, which is supporting demand for KO shares. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s updated 2026 framework calls for 8%–9% comparable EPS growth and about $12.2 billion in free cash flow, reinforcing confidence in earnings and cash generation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst upgrades and higher price targets from firms including Barclays, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citi are helping support the shares. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.80.

CocaCola Trading Up 3.7%

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 firm has a market cap of $342.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.32.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 40.55% and a net margin of 27.80%.The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 23,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $1,847,595.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,383.25. This represents a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $18,074,096.90. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold 255,505 shares of company stock worth $20,187,007 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth about $3,865,807,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in CocaCola by 867.2% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,432,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,008,954,000 after buying an additional 12,939,959 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in CocaCola by 1,206.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 10,641,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,913,000 after buying an additional 9,826,768 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in CocaCola by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,182,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,809,146,000 after buying an additional 9,078,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in CocaCola by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,573,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,015,000 after acquiring an additional 6,246,627 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CocaCola

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.