Comerica Bank Trims Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Comerica Bank trimmed its stake in The Coca‑Cola Company by 2.5% in Q4, selling 34,505 shares to finish with 1,343,590 shares valued at about $93.93 million.
• Insider selling has been notable: EVP Nancy Quan and Bruno Pietracci sold sizable blocks on March 3, and insiders have sold 892,925 shares worth about $70.25 million over the past 90 days (insiders now own 0.90%).
• Coca‑Cola raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, yield 2.8%), and analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with a $85 consensus price target.

Comerica Bank decreased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,343,590 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,505 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in CocaCola were worth $93,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors lifted its position in CocaCola by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 3,819 shares of the company's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP lifted its position in CocaCola by 1.2% during the third quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 12,154 shares of the company's stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,901 shares of the company's stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola by 3.9% during the third quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,957 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its position in CocaCola by 1.2% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 12,656 shares of the company's stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 23,556 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $1,872,702.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,754,735. The trade was a 9.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 28,765 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total value of $2,284,228.65. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 892,925 shares of company stock valued at $70,254,796 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $76.66 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $329.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.36. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $65.35 and a 52-week high of $82.00.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.04 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 27.34%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from CocaCola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 69.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CocaCola from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.