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

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 33,950,000 shares, a decline 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on KO shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.96, for a total value of $1,253,987.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,507,516.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,507,516.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 38,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.01, for a total transaction of $2,667,443.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 376,096 shares of company stock worth $25,982,352. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,297,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,023,000 after buying an additional 8,733,326 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Coca-Cola by 11,127.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,972,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,928,441 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Coca-Cola by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,698,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964,850 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $188,448,000. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth $157,087,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of KO traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $70.34. 7,410,489 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,187,519. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $52.84 and a 1 year high of $73.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.51 and its 200-day moving average is $65.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Coca-Cola’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders 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 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.