CocaCola (NYSE:KO) CFO John Murphy Sells 99,437 Shares of Stock

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) CFO John Murphy sold 99,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.42, for a total transaction of $7,996,723.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 410,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,016,431. This represents a 19.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $81.46 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $65.35 and a twelve month high of $82.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36.

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

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.11%.

CocaCola News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call buying — Investors purchased ~61,806 call options on KO Friday (about 17% above a typical day), signaling short‑term bullish positioning that can amplify upside into upcoming catalysts.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised near‑term and multi‑year EPS forecasts — Analysts lifted Q1/Q2 and FY2026–FY2028 estimates, nudging forward EPS momentum and supporting a higher valuation multiple for KO.
• Neutral Sentiment: Defensive rotation / momentum into blue‑chips — MarketBeat highlighted KO as part of a broader move into defensive, dividend‑paying names as tech cools; that thematic flow helps demand for KO but is macro‑driven. MarketBeat Week in Review
• Neutral Sentiment: Swire Pacific restructuring of its Vietnam Coca‑Cola stake — Corporate-level changes in regional ownership could alter local distribution/partner dynamics; impact on KO is indirect and longer term. Swire Pacific update
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive press on KO as a long‑running dividend name — Inclusion in lists of century‑plus dividend payers/reliable blue‑chips supports buy‑and‑hold interest but is a slow, steady demand factor. 247WallSt dividend article
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling — Several executives disclosed recent share sales (CFO John Murphy sold ~99,437 shares; EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 20,000; EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold multiple blocks). Large insider dispositions can weigh on sentiment even when company fundamentals remain intact. SEC filings: CFO Form 4 EVP Monica Form 4 EVP Beatriz Form 4

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CocaCola

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 1.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 167,850,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,734,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992,327 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 433,547 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,816,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,581 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KO shares. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on CocaCola from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.33.

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.