Investors Buy High Volume of Coca-Cola Call Options (NYSE:KO)

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 85,190 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 29% compared to the typical daily volume of 66,163 call options.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:KO traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.00. 28,069,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,037,522. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.57. Coca-Cola has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

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Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $3,941,055.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 246,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 288,146 shares of company stock worth $20,456,524. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,402,151,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,949,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222,885 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Coca-Cola by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,163,187 shares of the company's stock worth $4,617,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,569,920 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company's stock worth $6,680,205,000 after buying an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $500,192,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.24.

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.