Auto Owners Insurance Co Acquires 4,738,144 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Auto Owners Insurance Co massively increased its Coca-Cola stake in Q4, buying 4.74 million additional shares and lifting its holdings to 4.78 million shares valued at about $33.4 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with Chairman James Quincey and EVP Nancy Quan both selling shares; the company said the transactions were tied to tax withholding and, in Quincey’s case, a pre-arranged trading plan.
• Coca-Cola posted solid fundamentals, beating quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share for an annual yield of 2.7%.

Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 10,842.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,781,844 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,738,144 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co owned about 0.11% of CocaCola worth $33,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company's stock worth $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in CocaCola during the first quarter valued at about $210,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 450.5% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 39,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 32,392 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in CocaCola by 548.2% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,063 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total transaction of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 quarter, insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE KO opened at $79.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.93. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $65.35 and a one year high of $84.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $341.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The business's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. CocaCola's payout ratio is 66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.69.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to view Coca-Cola as a durable long-term holding because of its global brand strength, pricing power, and ability to perform in inflationary conditions.
• Positive Sentiment: Articles focused on KO’s dividend appeal emphasize its 62-year streak of dividend increases, reinforcing its status as an income stock for conservative investors.
• Positive Sentiment: KO was included in a list of non-tech wide-moat stocks for stable returns in the second half of 2026, which may draw more defensive capital into the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: One piece compared Coca-Cola’s year-to-date performance with other consumer staples peers, suggesting investors are evaluating KO mainly as part of a broader sector rotation rather than on company-specific news.
• Neutral Sentiment: Seeking Alpha commentary noted some technical caution even while remaining constructive on the business, implying valuation and chart factors may limit immediate upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Most of the coverage was opinion and analysis rather than a major earnings or operational announcement, so the stock’s move today appears tied more to sentiment around defensiveness and dividends than fresh fundamentals.

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.

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