Short Interest in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Declines By 5.3%

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,920,000 shares, a decrease of 5.3% from the December 15th total of 34,770,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 16,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KO. Quarry LP bought a new position in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola in the third quarter worth $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

KO stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.76. 17,877,164 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,543,682. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.61. Coca-Cola has a 12 month low of $57.93 and a 12 month high of $73.53. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Coca-Cola will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Truist Financial upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.13.

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.