Coca-Cola Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KO)

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 76,303 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 47% compared to the average daily volume of 51,905 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KO. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the second quarter valued at $38,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

KO traded down $0.12 on Wednesday, reaching $64.43. The company had a trading volume of 13,217,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,563,657. Coca-Cola has a one year low of $57.47 and a one year high of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $277.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.49 and a 200-day moving average of $66.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.45% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on KO. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.36.

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.