Blair William & Co. IL Lowers Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Blair William & Co. IL cut its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,521,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,208 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $100,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,846,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in CocaCola by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,996,519,000 after buying an additional 6,241,163 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in CocaCola by 7,239.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,149,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,086,000 after buying an additional 6,065,840 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in CocaCola by 343.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,486,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,518,000 after buying an additional 3,474,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in CocaCola by 28.7% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 11,713,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $828,764,000 after buying an additional 2,613,316 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $5,833,593.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 279,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,538,916.84. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 250,688 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.14, for a total value of $19,839,448.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 278,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,013,186.70. This represents a 47.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 869,045 shares of company stock valued at $68,407,201. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.1%

KO opened at $77.11 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.86 and its 200-day moving average is $71.11. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $65.35 and a 52-week high of $82.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $331.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The business had revenue of $11.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. Analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 67.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $88.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on CocaCola from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on CocaCola from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $87.00 price objective on CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.33.

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed a buy on KO / stayed constructive on the name, which supports demand from institutional and growth‑oriented analysts. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Coca‑Cola’s recent dividend raise and coverage as a Dividend King/Aristocrat reinforce its appeal to income investors and conservative portfolios; that steady payout profile is a structural positive for valuation support. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and trade pieces highlight KO’s digital transformation (marketing, supply‑chain, analytics) as a potential multi‑quarter margin catalyst — a reason for longer‑term upside if execution cuts costs and boosts mix. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Street support and raised targets (multiple firms have buy/overweight ratings and higher price targets, leaving a consensus target above the current price) provide analyst backing for the shares. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Feature pieces show KO is a “trending” name and gets investor attention — useful context for flows but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary on an alternate Coca‑Cola‑related listing described as a “monster stock” may attract growth‑oriented flows to related tickers but doesn’t materially change KO’s staples profile. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, disclosed insider sales this week (CEO James Quincey, EVP Nancy Quan, Bruno Pietracci, CFO reports) represent a clear near‑term sentiment headwind and likely source of fresh supply into the market. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage tied these insider sells to immediate selling pressure and short‑term price drops in several headlines, amplifying downside risk for traders focused on near‑term momentum. Read More.

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.