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

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 32,920,000 shares, a drop of 5.3% from the December 31st total of 34,770,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 16,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KO. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $82.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $63.36. 12,062,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,977,205. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.65 and its 200 day moving average is $66.39. Coca-Cola has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $272.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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.