Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 7,380 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Meyer Handelman Co. decreased its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 2.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 273,075 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,380 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $20,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at about $15,005,000. KFG Wealth Management LLC raised its position in CocaCola by 8.2% in the first quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Longview Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in CocaCola during the first quarter worth about $161,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in CocaCola by 17.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 247,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,853,000 after purchasing an additional 37,493 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 8.9% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 111,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,489,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $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 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 Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total value of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Citigroup upped their price objective on CocaCola from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.69.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of CocaCola stock opened at $80.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $345.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $65.35 and a 1-year high of $84.04.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 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.