CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Trading Down 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) shares dropped 1.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $70.37 and last traded at $70.50. Approximately 15,286,461 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 18,433,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.44.

CocaCola News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca‑Cola is preparing a roughly $1 billion IPO for its India bottler, Hindustan Coca‑Cola Beverages (HCCB), this summer — a move that could unlock value, reduce capital intensity and provide proceeds for marketing or buybacks. Coca-Cola plans to pop the cap on $1 billion HCCB IPO this year
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo issued a buy on KO, a near‑term positive for sentiment and buy‑side interest — analyst upgrades can attract flows into large caps like KO. Coca-Cola (KO) Gets a Buy from Wells Fargo
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend narrative remains a tailwind: coverage highlights Coca‑Cola’s streak of annual dividend increases (approaching 64 years) and durable cash generation, supporting income‑oriented investor demand. Is Coca-Cola Still 1 of the Best Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever?
• Positive Sentiment: Management reshuffle and a new digital role ahead of Henrique Braun’s CEO start are positioned as moves to accelerate digital transformation — could improve execution and margins if successfully implemented. Coca-Cola Reshapes Leadership to Speed Digital Transformation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed across consumer names, leaving near‑term price action sensitive to headlines and macro; KO has both buy calls and cautious takes. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Consumer Goods Companies
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend-focused roundups (e.g., Dogs of the Dow lists) keep KO on the radar for income investors but don’t usually trigger large directional moves alone. The Dogs of the Dow: 10 Downtrodden Dividends Paying Out Up to 6.8%
• Negative Sentiment: Coca‑Cola has scrapped the sale process for Costa Coffee after bids fell short — that may disappoint investors expecting proceeds or simplification, and suggests limited appetite at desired valuations. Coca‑Cola scraps Costa Coffee sale, FT reports

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.08.

CocaCola Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $303.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.34.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. CocaCola’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.966-2.966 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,109.25. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Max R. Levchin purchased 7,206 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.87 per share, with a total value of $503,483.22. Following the acquisition, the director owned 14,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,835.29. This represents a 102.05% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 225,252 shares of company stock worth $15,953,007 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,885,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,464,464,000 after buying an additional 1,443,189 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in CocaCola by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 165,858,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,083,296,000 after acquiring an additional 923,278 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,846,270,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in CocaCola by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,094,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,592,732,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 2.8% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,051,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,860,395,000 after purchasing an additional 770,235 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.