KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 45.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,535,926 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 478,838 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $116,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 438.8% in the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in CocaCola by 1,081.8% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Heavy call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for a rebound or expecting volatility around the stock. Traders bought 75,333 call options, well above the recent average. Quiver Quant article on Coca-Cola options activity and cyberattack
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted KO benefiting from its defensive profile as investors look for more stable dividend names ahead of earnings, which may be helping support interest in the stock despite the cybersecurity issue. Benzinga article on Coca-Cola stock movement
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola also announced a quarterly dividend, reinforcing its appeal as a high-quality income stock, though this is unlikely to be the main driver of today’s trading.
• Negative Sentiment: The fairlife cyberattack is the key negative catalyst, since it hit a growth brand and temporarily suspended U.S. production, raising fears of lost revenue and added recovery costs. Reuters article on fairlife production halt

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.81.

CocaCola Stock Down 0.1%

CocaCola stock opened at $81.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $350.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.35 and a fifty-two week high of $85.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.68.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released 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. CocaCola had a return on equity of 40.55% and a net margin of 27.80%.The company had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s 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. Research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $7,946,000.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $18,074,096.90. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CocaCola Company 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.