Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 25,988 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 121.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,402 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,988 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $3,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Liberty Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 327,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,875,000 after buying an additional 10,758 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 27,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 148.2% in the 4th quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 24,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 14,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 9,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s push into energy drinks and functional beverages is being viewed as a potential growth catalyst, with new flavors, lower-sugar options, and its Monster partnership helping the company target faster-growing categories beyond traditional soft drinks.
• Positive Sentiment: The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting stronger-than-expected EPS and revenue along with 11.4% year-over-year revenue growth, which supports the case for solid underlying business momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating still at Buy, suggesting Wall Street sees room for further upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, reinforcing its appeal as a defensive income stock for long-term investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Chairman James Quincey, including a 200,000-share sale, may create some investor caution, even though insider sales do not necessarily signal weakening fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: A Diet Coke shortage in parts of India, linked to aluminum can supply constraints and broader geopolitical disruptions, highlights operational and supply-chain risks that could pressure near-term sales in certain markets.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $85.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.27.

Insider Activity

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $5,833,593.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 279,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,538,916.84. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James Quincey sold 200,000 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.90, for a total transaction of $15,780,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 78,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,166,429.50. This represents a 71.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 755,101 shares of company stock worth $59,988,566. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:KO opened at $80.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $345.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.35. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $76.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.10. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $65.35 and a 52-week high of $82.00.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. 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.