Groupe la Francaise Reduces Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Groupe la Francaise lowered its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 4.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 900,621 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,723 shares during the quarter. CocaCola comprises about 0.9% of Groupe la Francaise’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $67,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KO. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 438.8% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter worth $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola during the second quarter worth $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1,081.8% in the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the fourth 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 news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares in the company, valued at $9,842,608.29. This represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 181,384 shares in the company, valued at $14,412,772.64. This represents a 35.54% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,502,719 shares of company stock valued at $126,087,452. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong second-quarter results remain the main catalyst. Coca-Cola reported adjusted EPS of $0.97, topping the $0.93 consensus, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year to $13.37 billion, ahead of the $13.17 billion estimate. Global unit-case volume increased 5%, and management raised its 2026 outlook, supporting expectations for continued earnings growth. Coca-Cola Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: World Cup marketing boosted demand. Management credited FIFA World Cup activation with helping deliver the company’s strongest quarterly volume growth in 17 years. Pricing, product mix, zero-sugar beverages and Fairlife also contributed to broad-based growth across regions. KO Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved. Jefferies raised its price target to $104, while TD Cowen and Citigroup moved to $100 and JPMorgan increased its target to $96. Argus also raised its target to $97 and assigned a Buy rating, reinforcing the bullish response to the earnings report.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fairlife’s ransomware disruption appears contained. A cyberattack shut down all four U.S. Fairlife plants for 11 days in July, but Coca-Cola said most production has resumed, reducing the risk of a prolonged supply or financial impact. Coca-Cola keeps beating its rivals, and Wall Street noticed
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is limiting additional upside. After a substantial 2026 rally and trading near its yearly high, Coca-Cola’s P/E near 27 has prompted caution. HSBC downgraded the stock to Hold, arguing that PepsiCo may offer better value.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales add a modest overhang. Chairman James Quincey sold roughly $47.5 million of shares, and insider Bruno Pietracci sold about $6.8 million. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, making them less concerning than discretionary selling but still a potential sentiment headwind.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $89.00) on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $88.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Friday, June 26th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.76.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $88.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $380.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $65.35 and a 52 week high of $90.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.65.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 39.38% and a net margin of 28.56%.The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.28 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

CocaCola Profile

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.