Employees Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its Coca-Cola stake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.63 million shares worth about $113.9 million.
• Coca-Cola insiders were active sellers: CEO James Quincey and CFO John Murphy both sold large blocks of shares, and insiders sold 652,289 shares in the last quarter overall.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share with a 2.6% yield.

Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,629,273 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,291 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up 0.9% of Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in CocaCola were worth $113,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors increased its stake in CocaCola by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 3,819 shares of the company's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% during the third quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 12,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,901 shares of the company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 19,766 shares of the company's stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,957 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 250,688 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.14, for a total transaction of $19,839,448.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 278,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,013,186.70. This represents a 47.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $5,833,593.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 279,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,538,916.84. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 652,289 shares of company stock worth $51,739,054. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of CocaCola stock opened at $80.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $346.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's 50-day moving average is $77.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.87. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $65.35 and a 1 year high of $82.66.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Morgan Stanley set a $88.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CocaCola from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Fifteen equities 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 target price of $86.80.

CocaCola 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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