Virtu Financial LLC Sells 7,573 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Virtu Financial LLC decreased its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,573 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $3,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors lifted its position in CocaCola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 3,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC increased its position in CocaCola by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 7,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP increased its position in CocaCola by 1.2% during the third quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 12,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $79.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $341.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.91. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $65.35 and a one year high of $84.04.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The company’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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. This represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total value of $2,559,411.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola remains a favorite among dividend and blue-chip investors, with multiple recent articles highlighting its durable business model, strong free-cash-flow generation, and long track record of dividend growth. Several analysts and commentary pieces also describe KO as a solid long-term holding despite market volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha piece argued that Coca-Cola still has upside, pointing to Q1 2026 double-digit revenue growth, margin expansion, pricing power, and valuation targets above current levels. Another noted the company’s strong Q1 results, including 10% organic revenue growth and 18% EPS growth, along with continued market share gains.
• Positive Sentiment: KO is also getting attention from stock screeners and analyst-focused articles that list it among attractive blue-chip or “must-own” dividend names, which can support sentiment for a defensive consumer-staples stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Coca-Cola is exploring a potential IPO for its India bottling arm is being watched as a strategic refranchising move. Investors may see this as a way to streamline operations and unlock value, but details are still limited and the impact is uncertain.
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary is more cautious on valuation, arguing that KO’s share price already reflects much of its quality and that the dividend yield has become less compelling at current levels. Technical caution was also mentioned in one article, suggesting limited near-term upside after the stock’s strong run.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on CocaCola from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.69.

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.