CocaCola Company (The) $KO Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 45.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,535,926 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 478,838 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $116,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 438.8% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 1,081.8% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total transaction of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 157,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,128,734. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial set a $88.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CocaCola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.81.

More CocaCola News

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

CocaCola Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:KO opened at $81.50 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $350.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 3.26 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 Company has a 1 year low of $65.35 and a 1 year high of $85.68.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

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

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.