The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 39,140,000 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the August 15th total of 36,350,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total value of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.96, for a total transaction of $1,253,987.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,507,516.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction of $553,722,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,883,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,280,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 974,715 shares of company stock worth $579,704,927 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 2.2% in the second quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.7% in the second quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the second quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 42,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Coca-Cola in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.07.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,294,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,109,882. The company has a market capitalization of $308.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.13. Coca-Cola has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.60%.

About Coca-Cola

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.