CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $85.68 and last traded at $83.9960, with a volume of 17825219 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.96.

Key Headlines Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to favor Coca-Cola as a defensive consumer-staples name, with commentary highlighting strong year-to-date gains, consistent earnings beats, and “flight to quality” demand. Forget Coca-Cola, Choose Duke Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market coverage point to Coca-Cola’s steady growth profile and defensive appeal, which can help support the stock when investors rotate toward lower-volatility names. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Pullback Puts Defensive Appeal In Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Recent articles also highlight Coca-Cola’s new product launches and North American volume growth, reinforcing the company’s ability to drive demand even with mixed international trends. Coca-Cola launches 5 hard-to-find new flavors
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage ahead of earnings suggests Coca-Cola may be trading near record levels as investors anticipate another solid report later this month. Should You Buy Coca-Cola Stock Before July 28?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on performance comparisons and analyst sentiment, including a “Moderate Buy” average rating, but these appear more informational than stock-moving. CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s price cuts on Coca-Cola 24-packs have raised questions about KO’s pricing power and whether the stock is getting expensive after its recent run. Coca Cola (KO) Faces Walmart Price Cuts, Is It Still Overvalued?
• Negative Sentiment: A recent downgrade note and reports of softer global demand could create some caution, especially if investors worry North American growth may not fully offset international weakness. Coca-Cola: Steady Growth Wins The Race (Rating Downgrade)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KO. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on CocaCola in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $88.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

CocaCola Trading Up 1.2%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $361.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.34.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The company had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. On average, 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 was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the sale, the chairman owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 157,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,128,734. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CocaCola by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 374,771,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,200,276,000 after acquiring an additional 5,886,352 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 167,850,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,734,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992,327 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,273,037,000 after purchasing an additional 433,547 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,865,807,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 44,018,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,347,642,000 after purchasing an additional 3,836,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.