CocaCola (NYSE:KO) Upgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein to “Hold” Rating

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of CocaCola (NYSE:KO) to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $87.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.69.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE KO opened at $82.63 on Thursday. 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 has a 1-year low of $65.35 and a 1-year high of $84.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.70 and a 200-day moving average of $75.68. The company has a market cap of $355.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that CocaCola will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. CocaCola’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $7,946,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 207,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,480,004. This represents a 32.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 worth $71,832,315 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 374,771,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,200,276,000 after buying an additional 5,886,352 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,992,327 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,273,037,000 after buying an additional 433,547 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth $3,865,807,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 9.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 44,018,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,347,642,000 after buying an additional 3,836,640 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting 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.

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.