Short Interest in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Decreases By 16.5%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 33,950,000 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the September 15th total of 40,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,780,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $7,179,360.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $7,179,360.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,987,070.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 37,787 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.96, for a total transaction of $2,530,217.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,954,176.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 356,792 shares of company stock worth $24,728,364 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 65.0% during the first quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of KO traded up $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $70.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,285,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,130,165. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $70.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.59. Coca-Cola has a fifty-two week low of $53.21 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.60%.

Coca-Cola 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.