CocaCola Company (The) $KO Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,408 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,275 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $3,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CocaCola by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Gill Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Atomic Invest LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, insider Sanket Ray sold 9,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 152,483 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.31, for a total value of $13,313,290.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 279,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,439,553.27. This represents a 35.26% 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 sold 926,620 shares of company stock valued at $83,075,714 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. CICC Research boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Argus upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on CocaCola from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $82.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.27.

Trending Headlines about CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Defensive investors have favored Coca-Cola as broader large-cap markets weakened, while the company’s industry-leading margins, reliable dividend and global brand continue to support demand for the stock. Defensive consumer stocks article
• Positive Sentiment: KFC plans to move roughly 3,600 U.S. restaurants back to Coca-Cola products beginning in early 2027, potentially adding fountain-volume growth and strengthening KO’s restaurant-channel presence. Coca-Cola KFC agreement article
• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola selected agency partners and reaffirmed its global marketing strategy, including expanded use of data, technology and artificial intelligence. Management expects the initiative to improve consumer engagement and support long-term growth. Coca-Cola marketing agency announcement
• Positive Sentiment: KO has beaten earnings-per-share estimates for six consecutive quarters. Wall Street expects third-quarter results before the market opens on October 27, with projected sales above $12.9 billion; another beat could extend the stock’s momentum. Coca-Cola third-quarter earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s shares have gained roughly one-third in 2026 and recently entered the $400 billion market-capitalization group. Historical analysis suggests strong calendar-year gains have often been followed by additional advances, although the comparison does not guarantee future performance. Coca-Cola historical performance article
• Negative Sentiment: KO’s premium valuation leaves limited room for an earnings disappointment. Analysts see benefits from pricing and margin expansion, but weak volumes in some key markets remain a concern. A reported data-breach investigation and potential class-action claims also introduce legal and reputational risk. Coca-Cola data breach investigation

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of CocaCola stock opened at $92.77 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.94. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $67.27 and a one year high of $95.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.32.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 39.38% and a net margin of 28.56%. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

About CocaCola

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.