CocaCola Company (The) $KO Position Reduced by Firestone Capital Management

Key Points

• Firestone Capital Management cut its Coca-Cola stake by 58% in the second quarter, selling 11,996 shares and retaining 8,696 shares valued at approximately $707,000. Institutional investors collectively own 70.26% of KO.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with 15 analysts rating the stock a Buy and three assigning a Hold rating. Coca-Cola has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $95.76.
• Coca-Cola exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.97 in adjusted EPS and $13.37 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 6.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 2.4% yield.

Firestone Capital Management trimmed its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 58.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,696 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,996 shares during the period. Firestone Capital Management's holdings in CocaCola were worth $707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd acquired a new position in CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth $552,000. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.1% in the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,090,758 shares of the company's stock worth $88,646,000 after buying an additional 32,723 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,852,525 shares of the company's stock worth $269,330,000 after acquiring an additional 31,694 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 68.5% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 218,199 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,733,000 after acquiring an additional 88,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,759,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,010,000 after acquiring an additional 79,946 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on KO. Argus boosted their target price on CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of CocaCola in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $89.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 152,483 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.31, for a total value of $13,313,290.73. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 279,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,439,553.27. The trade was a 35.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total transaction of $10,126,419.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,761,319.45. This represents a 72.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 1,594,900 shares of company stock valued at $136,568,617 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $87.95 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $85.66 and its 200-day moving average is $81.00. The company has a market cap of $378.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 3.10 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. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $65.35 and a 52-week high of $92.49.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.17 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 39.38% and a net margin of 28.56%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

CocaCola Company 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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