VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires 79,260 Shares of Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 31.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 331,888 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,260 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $28,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,958,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,735,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,673 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 36,354,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,954,523,000 after purchasing an additional 162,097 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,053,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,361,198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,026 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,822,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,495,000 after purchasing an additional 235,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 15,272,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,241,223,000 after buying an additional 113,599 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.26.

Trending Headlines about Coca-Cola

Here are the key news stories impacting Coca-Cola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Better-than-expected earnings and higher guidance: Coca-Cola’s third-quarter results exceeded Wall Street expectations, supported by 5% unit case-volume growth, consumer recruitment, affordability initiatives, and disciplined execution. Management now expects comparable EPS to increase at least 11% in 2026. Coca-Cola’s Q3 earnings call: our top 5 analyst questions
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is reinforcing the rally: TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Freedom Broker all recently raised their Coca-Cola price targets or indicated potential appreciation. Jim Cramer also recommended buying KO after the earnings beat. Coca-Cola stock gets price target boost from JPMorgan Chase
• Positive Sentiment: Defensive dividend appeal: Coca-Cola continues to be highlighted as a dependable “Dividend King,” with a long record of annual payout increases and strong brand durability—features attracting income investors amid broader market uncertainty. No Tricks, Just Treats: 3 Dividend Stocks With Payouts You Can Trust
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term emerging-market opportunity: Coca-Cola’s distribution network and local brands provide room for growth in developing markets, where a large share of beverage purchases remains untapped. The company is also considering a 2027 IPO for its Indian bottling arm, potentially creating capital and valuation benefits. Too Late to Buy Coca-Cola? 1 Reason It Isn’t.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,761,319.45. This represents a 72.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Sanket Ray sold 9,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $861,367.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,105 shares in the company, valued at $5,372,082.50. This trade represents a 13.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 171,323 shares of company stock worth $15,507,286 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE KO opened at $94.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $404.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.32. Coca-Cola Company has a 12 month low of $67.27 and a 12 month high of $95.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 28.65% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.35%.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands.

The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.

The Coca-Cola Company serves consumers in more than 200 countries and territories through a system that includes company-operated operations, independent bottling partners, distributors, retailers, and food-service providers.