First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 34,259 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 0.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,056,824 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,259 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $308,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 40,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,109,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.9% during the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 3,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC grew its stake in CocaCola by 0.5% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 26,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,041,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors grew its stake in CocaCola by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 3,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola by 1.9% in the 4th 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. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 firm’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 157,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,128,734. This 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. Insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price objective on CocaCola in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.33.

CocaCola Stock Performance

CocaCola stock opened at $81.97 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $352.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.34. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $65.35 and a twelve month high of $85.68.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

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

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.