Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Up 2% – Should You Buy?

Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)’s stock price rose 2% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $96.26 and last traded at $95.9340. 21,012,820 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 24% from the average session volume of 16,930,443 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.08.

Coca-Cola News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Coca-Cola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola reported third-quarter sales of $13.38 billion and net income of $4.01 billion, raised its 2026 earnings guidance, and increased its dividend for the 64th consecutive year. Higher guidance and stronger free-cash-flow expectations bolster its earnings outlook and income appeal. Does Raised 2026 Guidance Change The Bull Case For Coca Cola Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also favoring established consumer-staples companies amid political uncertainty, with Coca-Cola’s resilient business and dividend record helping attract defensive demand. Here’s Why Dividend Kings Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Colgate-Palmolive Are Hitting 52-Week Highs Following Midterm Election Results
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is reportedly assessing an IPO of its India bottling assets through Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings. A listing could alter how those operations are financed or valued, but the review is preliminary and no structure or timing has been decided. Coca-Cola (KO) Weighs India Bottling IPO Through Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive Vice President Beatriz Perez sold shares, but the filing says the sale covered tax withholding tied to vested equity awards, making it less indicative of a change in business outlook. SEC filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $88.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, October 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.26.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.44. The company has a market capitalization of $413.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 28.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 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, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Beatriz Perez sold 67,548 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.91, for a total transaction of $6,410,980.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 160,428 shares in the company, valued at $15,226,221.48. The trade was a 29.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $4,519,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 238,871 shares of company stock worth $21,918,267 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,090,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,646,000 after acquiring an additional 32,723 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 402.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 163,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,052,000 after purchasing an additional 130,746 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 68.5% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 218,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,733,000 after purchasing an additional 88,690 shares during the period. Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at approximately $12,905,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 2,091.3% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 361,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,414,000 after purchasing an additional 345,417 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

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.