Madison Asset Management LLC Has $2.34 Million Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Madison Asset Management LLC raised its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 26.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,727 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,339 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola is reportedly using AI to improve marketing and vending performance, with one report saying the effort helped drive a 15% surge in vending sales, reinforcing the company’s ability to use technology to strengthen its core brand. Coca-Cola Used AI to Make Itself More Coca-Cola
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive ahead of earnings, saying Coca-Cola’s pricing power, stable demand, and solid growth outlook could support another strong quarter and help the company maintain guidance. Coca-Cola’s Growth Outlook Remains Strong Ahead of Q2 Results, UBS Says
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlights Coca-Cola’s strong fundamentals, including durable organic growth, strong free-cash-flow conversion, and shareholder returns, which continue to support the stock’s defensive appeal. Coca-Cola Keeps Outperforming My Expectations (Earnings Preview)
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also reportedly preparing an India bottler IPO, a strategic move that could unlock value over time but is not an immediate earnings driver. Coca-Cola picks bankers for its India bottler IPO
• Negative Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s Fairlife unit was hit by a ransomware attack, with production suspended and a hacking group claiming responsibility, raising near-term concerns about supply disruptions and potential data/security costs. Gang claims responsibility for hack at Coca-Cola’s fairlife unit

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $88.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Friday, June 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In related news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the sale, the chairman owned 122,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 Jennifer K. Mann sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $7,946,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 181,384 shares in the company, valued at $14,412,772.64. This represents a 35.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $81.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $352.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.34. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.35 and a fifty-two week high of $85.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.85.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 40.55% and a net margin of 27.80%.CocaCola’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.