CocaCola Company (The) $KO Shares Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its Coca-Cola stake by 66% in the second quarter, adding 73,674 shares to own 185,364 shares valued at approximately $15.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 70.26% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 15 Buy ratings and three Holds, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $95.76. Coca-Cola recently traded at $86.99.
• Coca-Cola exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted earnings of $0.97 per share and revenue of $13.37 billion, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equivalent to a 2.4% annual yield.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 66.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185,364 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 73,674 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $15,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.9% during the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 40,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 3,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Wills Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Wills Financial Group LLC now owns 10,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Financial Co boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 25,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CocaCola from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of CocaCola in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.76.

CocaCola Price Performance

CocaCola stock opened at $86.99 on Tuesday. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $65.35 and a 12 month high of $90.92. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.33.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share 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%. CocaCola's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 157,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,128,734. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 152,483 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 279,917 shares in the company, valued at $24,439,553.27. The trade was a 35.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 1,433,535 shares of company stock valued at $121,922,698 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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