CocaCola Company (The) $KO Stock: Banque Pictet & Cie SA Grows Stake

Key Points

• Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its Coca-Cola stake by 11.5% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 239,687 shares valued at approximately $20.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70.26% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with one Strong Buy, 20 Buy and two Hold ratings; Coca-Cola’s consensus price target is $96.27. The company also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.97 EPS and $13.37 billion in revenue.
• Coca-Cola’s shares opened at $93.72, near their 52-week high, while the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, or $2.12 annualized. The stock’s valuation remains a concern, trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 28.5.

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,687 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,724 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in CocaCola were worth $20,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new position in CocaCola during the third quarter worth $31,000. Atomic Invest LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 38.7% in the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Timbuktu Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the second quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their target price on CocaCola from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CocaCola from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.27.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 152,483 shares of CocaCola 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 279,917 shares in the company, valued at $24,439,553.27. This trade represents a 35.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $4,519,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,186,798.70. This represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 926,620 shares of company stock worth $83,075,714 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KFC switches from Pepsi to Coca-Cola: KFC will replace PepsiCo beverages with Coca-Cola products at its U.S. restaurants next year, ending a relationship that began in 1986. The high-profile contract should provide incremental fountain volume, strengthen Coca-Cola’s North American position and pressure PepsiCo. KFC to switch to Coca-Cola beverages in U.S. restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: UBS reaffirmed its Buy rating, while Jefferies maintained a Buy rating and Barclays reportedly raised its price target. Analysts view the KFC win as evidence of improving competitive momentum in North America. Jefferies maintains Coca-Cola Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Rotation into defensive stocks: Coca-Cola, Visa and Mastercard reached records as investors rotated away from chip and artificial-intelligence stocks. KO’s low-beta profile and dependable cash flows make it a potential beneficiary if technology-market volatility increases. Coca-Cola, Visa and Mastercard hit records
• Positive Sentiment: Strong brand and product execution: Coca-Cola Zero Sugar volume grew 16% in the second quarter, outpacing 5% growth for the broader Coca-Cola trademark. Localized pricing, marketing and product strategies are also supporting global consumer engagement. How Coca-Cola is using local execution to fuel global growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend remains a support: Coca-Cola declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, or $2.12 annualized, representing an indicated yield of about 2.3%. The payout reinforces KO’s income appeal, although the stock’s elevated valuation limits the margin of safety.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and growth questions: At roughly 28 times earnings, investors are paying a premium for a mature company. The Zero Sugar gains may partly reflect consumers switching among Coca-Cola products rather than creating entirely new demand, which could limit the long-term earnings benefit. Is Zero Sugar creating new demand or shifting existing sales?

CocaCola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $93.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $403.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.32. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $67.27 and a 52 week high of $94.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $88.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.34.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. Research analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 3.30 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.66%.

CocaCola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company NYSE: KO is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Its portfolio includes sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and other ready-to-drink products. The company's best-known brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, Powerade, Minute Maid, fairlife, and Georgia Coffee.

Founded in 1886, the company develops, owns, licenses, markets, and distributes beverage brands through a network of bottling partners, distributors, retailers, and food-service operators.

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