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

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

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:KO opened at $72.10 on Tuesday. Coca-Cola has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year 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. The firm has a market cap of $310.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.04.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.60%.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction 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 $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Cola Co Coca sold 598,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $925.00, for a total transaction 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 $1,742,280,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 102,533 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,987,070.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 974,715 shares of company stock valued at $579,704,927. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 21,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,377,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. American Trust raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 15,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,611,000. Finally, Brightwater Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $367,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.07.

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.