CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Raised to Hold at Sanford C. Bernstein

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) was upgraded by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on KO. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $85.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.69.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $82.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $355.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.68. CocaCola has a 12-month low of $65.35 and a 12-month high of $84.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 40.55% and a net margin of 27.80%.CocaCola’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CocaCola will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 157,400 shares in the company, valued at $13,128,734. This represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $34,960,398.48. Following the sale, the chairman owned 122,833 shares in the company, valued at $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders sold a total of 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CocaCola

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.7% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 19,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in CocaCola by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 6,012,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,230,000 after purchasing an additional 86,475 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services grew its position in CocaCola by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 11,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its stake in CocaCola by 1.8% in the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 41,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,129,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp increased its stake in CocaCola by 2.8% in the first quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 7,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated its buy view on Coca-Cola, reinforcing Wall Street’s generally favorable stance on KO and supporting the stock’s recent strength.
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Coca-Cola as a potential beneficiary of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with expectations that beverage volume and consumer spending could rise during the tournament.
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary also pointed to strong Q1 results, including an earnings and revenue beat, solid organic growth, and volume gains, which continue to underpin the bullish investment case. Coca-Cola’s Q1 Results Prove It’s a Good Buy to Hold and Hold
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest remains supported by Coca-Cola’s reliable dividend and defensive profile, which continue to attract income-focused buyers.
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Jennifer K. Mann disclosed a stock sale, but it was conducted under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan and tied to equity-award tax withholding, making it less of a concern than discretionary insider selling.

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.