CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) Short Interest Up 23.7% in March

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 53,713,859 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the February 26th total of 43,415,996 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 17,454,583 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $87.00 price target on CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on CocaCola from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.80.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its price target on KO to $86 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing upside versus current levels — a clear analyst catalyst supporting bullish sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coca‑Cola announced a $1 billion investment plan in South Africa through 2030, signaling confidence in international demand and distribution expansion that could boost revenue and long‑term growth in Africa. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Major outlets and analysts (Deutsche Bank, Zacks coverage) are flagging KO as a defensive, dividend‑rich pick amid market volatility — supporting demand from income‑focused investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coca‑Cola is highlighted as a long‑term dividend holding (Dividend King) in retail coverage, reinforcing its appeal to buy‑and‑hold investors seeking stable income and low beta exposure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Management change: CEO James Quincey’s step down and creation of a chief digital officer role emphasize a strategic shift toward AI/cloud — this could lift execution and margins long term but introduces near‑term transition risk. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on Coca‑Cola’s AI and cloud rollout notes improved insights and execution across the value chain but stops short of a full tech‑led revenue pivot — positive for efficiency, uncertain for near‑term top‑line impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market notes: analysts and market pieces point to recent momentum after a pullback and relative outperformance vs. peers — helpful for sentiment but not a fundamental surprise. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage urges caution (e.g., comparisons vs. PepsiCo and notes on mixed demand), reminding investors of execution and growth challenges in certain markets that could cap upside. Article Title

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.94. The company had a trading volume of 6,780,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,363,352. CocaCola has a 12 month low of $65.35 and a 12 month high of $82.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.05.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The company had revenue of $11.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that CocaCola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 69.74%.

Insider Activity

In other CocaCola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 23,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $1,872,702.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,754,735. The trade was a 9.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 99,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.42, for a total transaction of $7,996,723.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 410,550 shares in the company, valued at $33,016,431. This represents a 19.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 892,925 shares of company stock valued at $70,254,796. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in CocaCola by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 374,771,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,200,276,000 after purchasing an additional 5,886,352 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in CocaCola by 1.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 0.5% during 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 buying an additional 433,547 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,697,000 after buying an additional 1,195,581 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Company Profile

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.