Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on CocaCola (NYSE:KO)

CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 77,977 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 43% compared to the typical daily volume of 54,467 call options.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, Director Max R. Levchin purchased 7,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $69.87 per share, for a total transaction of $503,483.22. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 14,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,835.29. This represents a 102.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total value of $947,411.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,638,109.25. This trade represents a 26.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CocaCola

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KO. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 5,142.9% in the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in CocaCola during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of CocaCola from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.43.

CocaCola Price Performance

NYSE KO traded up $1.50 on Friday, reaching $70.56. The company had a trading volume of 17,681,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,749,258. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. CocaCola has a 12 month low of $60.62 and a 12 month high of $74.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.58.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that CocaCola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 67.55%.

CocaCola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.