Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Buys Shares of 36,379 CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,767,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 374,771,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,200,276,000 after buying an additional 5,886,352 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 167,850,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,734,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992,327 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,273,037,000 after acquiring an additional 433,547 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in CocaCola by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,816,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,581 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $81.50 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.25 and its 200 day moving average is $77.63. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.35 and a fifty-two week high of $85.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The company had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. CocaCola’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Heavy call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for a rebound or expecting volatility around the stock. Traders bought 75,333 call options, well above the recent average. Quiver Quant article on Coca-Cola options activity and cyberattack
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted KO benefiting from its defensive profile as investors look for more stable dividend names ahead of earnings, which may be helping support interest in the stock despite the cybersecurity issue. Benzinga article on Coca-Cola stock movement
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola also announced a quarterly dividend, reinforcing its appeal as a high-quality income stock, though this is unlikely to be the main driver of today’s trading.
• Negative Sentiment: The fairlife cyberattack is the key negative catalyst, since it hit a growth brand and temporarily suspended U.S. production, raising fears of lost revenue and added recovery costs. Reuters article on fairlife production halt

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KO. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.81.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $34,960,398.48. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. This represents a 78.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total value of $2,559,411.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About CocaCola

The Coca?Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca?Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready?to?drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca?Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca?Cola, Diet Coke, Coca?Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.