Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Shares in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 197,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,005,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth about $3,865,807,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in CocaCola by 867.2% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,432,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,954,000 after acquiring an additional 12,939,959 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in CocaCola by 1,206.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 10,641,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,913,000 after acquiring an additional 9,826,768 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in CocaCola by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,182,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,809,146,000 after acquiring an additional 9,078,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in CocaCola by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,573,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,015,000 after acquiring an additional 6,246,627 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $18,074,096.90. The trade was 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. Insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $80.38 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $65.35 and a 52 week high of $84.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.24. The company has a market cap of $345.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

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