Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,112,600 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,502 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $312,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at $552,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 111,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,802,000 after buying an additional 30,786 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in CocaCola by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,852,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,330,000 after buying an additional 31,694 shares in the last quarter. Greenberg Financial Group purchased a new position in CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth about $507,000. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its position in CocaCola by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 49,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,429,000 after buying an additional 14,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett reportedly said Coca-Cola remains one of his preferred businesses, reinforcing the company’s reputation as a durable, high-quality consumer staple and potentially supporting investor confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighting Coca-Cola as a top dividend stock and a favorite among large investors may help reinforce the stock’s defensive, income-oriented appeal. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage ahead of Q2 earnings suggests Wall Street is watching for pricing strength and margin gains, which could support the stock if Coca-Cola beats expectations again. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles simply preview Coca-Cola’s upcoming results and key metrics, indicating investor focus is centered on the earnings release rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market commentary noted Coca-Cola underperformed the broader market in the latest session, reflecting near-term selling pressure on the shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some analyst-style pieces argue investors could do better in other dividend stocks or Pepsico, which may create mild competition for Coca-Cola among income-focused buyers. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of 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 target on CocaCola from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $34,960,398.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. The trade was a 78.03% decrease in their position. 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 three months, insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $82.19 on Monday. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $65.35 and a 12-month high of $85.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.43 and a 200 day moving average of $78.12.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.47 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share 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 $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is 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.