Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management increased its Coca-Cola stake by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 281,764 shares valued at about $19.7 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with several analysts raising price targets and 15 analysts rating KO a Buy; the consensus target is $86.80.
• Coca-Cola posted better-than-expected quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, implying a 2.6% yield.

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 281,764 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,860 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in CocaCola were worth $19,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,578 shares of the company's stock worth $3,256,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in CocaCola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in CocaCola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 43.9% in the 4th quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 1,049 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust acquired a new stake in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on CocaCola from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, CocaCola has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, CFO John Murphy sold 72,449 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 279,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,538,916.84. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total transaction of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,074,096.90. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 630,963 shares of company stock worth $50,016,979. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Trading Down 1.4%

KO opened at $80.45 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $65.35 and a 12-month high of $82.66. 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 capitalization of $346.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $77.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.03.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

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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