Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $123.01 Million Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its Coca-Cola stake by 7.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.51 million shares valued at approximately $123.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70.26% of KO.
• Coca-Cola exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.97 in earnings per share and $13.37 billion in revenue, up 6.2% year over year. The company guided for fiscal 2026 EPS of $3.27–$3.30.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equivalent to a 2.4% annualized yield. Analysts remain favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $95.76 versus the reported $88.38 share price.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,513,555 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 105,022 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $123,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. XY Planning Network Inc. boosted its position in CocaCola by 54.9% during the second quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. now owns 4,850 shares of the company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the period. BayBridge Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of CocaCola by 5.5% in the second quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 21,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Hudock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% in the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 28,453 shares of the company's stock worth $2,312,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 16.9% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 732,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,512,000 after acquiring an additional 105,770 shares during the period. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 8.9% in the second quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 21,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.4%

KO opened at $88.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $380.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $86.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.32. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $65.35 and a twelve month high of $92.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.17 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 28.56% and a return on equity of 39.38%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.66%.

Key Headlines Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to highlight Coca-Cola’s ability to generate returns through both business growth and shareholder distributions. Its brand strength, pricing power and defensive demand are helping explain its outperformance in 2026. Andrew Sather: Most Investors Are Missing Why Coca-Cola Is Outperforming
• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola is being identified as a pricing-power stock that may offer defensive protection against inflation and a weaker dollar. This supports investor demand for KO as a relatively stable consumer-staples holding. Safety Stocks Are Not What They Used to Be
• Positive Sentiment: The company remains attractive to income investors because its dividend profile offers ongoing shareholder returns without the capped upside associated with some covered-call income funds. JEPI Is an Income Machine
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s premiumization strategy is expanding higher-priced offerings while retaining affordable packages. The approach could improve revenue and margins, but it also carries risk if pricing pressures reduce consumer demand. Coca-Cola’s Premiumization Push
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compare KO’s 2026 performance with other defensive stocks and assess whether its advance near record levels is sustainable, signaling strong sentiment but also elevated valuation risk. Is Coca-Cola a Buy Near an All-Time High?
• Neutral Sentiment: News about former executive Brian Dyson’s death is historical and unlikely to materially affect Coca-Cola’s current financial outlook. Brian Dyson Dies at Age 90

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sanket Ray sold 9,958 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $861,367.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,372,082.50. The trade was a 13.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 152,483 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.31, for a total transaction of $13,313,290.73. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 279,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,439,553.27. This represents a 35.26% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 926,620 shares of company stock valued at $83,075,714. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on CocaCola from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners set a $95.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.76.

About CocaCola

The Coca-Cola Company NYSE: KO is a global beverage company best known for its Coca-Cola soft drink, which was first introduced in 1886. The company was incorporated in 1892 and has grown into one of the world's largest beverage businesses.

Its portfolio includes sparkling soft drinks such as Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite and Fanta, along with water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice and dairy-based beverages. Other brands associated with the company include Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Costa Coffee, fairlife and Topo Chico.

The Coca-Cola Company primarily develops, owns and markets beverage brands, while relying on a global network of independent bottling partners and distributors to manufacture, package and deliver many of its products.

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