CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $95.7647.

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group set a $104.00 price objective on CocaCola and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. HSBC lowered CocaCola from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

Insider Activity

In other CocaCola news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,186,798.70. The trade was a 18.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,365 shares in the company, valued at $3,761,319.45. The trade was a 72.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,594,900 shares of company stock worth $136,568,617. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 4,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise raised its position in CocaCola by 17.5% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,057,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,338,000 after purchasing an additional 157,321 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the second quarter valued at approximately $20,531,000. Financial Insights Inc. lifted its stake in CocaCola by 23.5% during the second quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 7,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in CocaCola by 7,365.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 487,509,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,619,934,000 after purchasing an additional 480,979,487 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Defensive-sector demand is supporting KO. Market commentary points to Coca-Cola’s stable cash flows and relatively low volatility as attractive while investors seek safety and quality amid changing interest-rate expectations. Why is Coca-Cola drawing steady demand as staples turn defensive today?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Coca-Cola to Rank #2, or “Buy.” The upgrade reflects improving expectations for the company’s earnings prospects and could provide a near-term sentiment boost. Coca-Cola upgraded to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating momentum remains constructive. Coca-Cola’s latest quarter included revenue growth of about 6% year over year and an earnings beat, while the company maintains fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.27–$3.30.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning is mixed but leans supportive. More institutions added KO shares than reduced them in the latest quarter, with notable additions from JPMorgan, Geode and Capital World Investors, although BlackRock, Capital Research and Invesco trimmed positions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst support is positive, but valuation may limit upside. Barclays and JPMorgan maintain “Overweight” ratings, while the reported median price target of $89.50 is close to the current trading level. Commentary also describes the valuation as stretched. Coca-Cola upgraded to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a cautionary signal. Company insiders made 30 open-market sales and no purchases over the past six months, including substantial sales by Chairman James Quincey and other senior executives.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $89.63 on Tuesday. CocaCola has a twelve month low of $65.35 and a twelve month high of $92.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $385.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.17 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 39.38% and a net margin of 28.56%.The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. On average, analysts predict that CocaCola will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 63.66%.

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.