Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,725 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group cut its Coca‑Cola stake by 51.5%, selling 13,725 shares and leaving it with 12,924 shares valued at about $857,000 after the third quarter.
• Company insiders have been heavy sellers recently — EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 23,880 shares and CEO James Quincey sold 250,688 shares, with insiders offloading 892,925 shares totaling about $70.25 million over the last three months.
• Coca‑Cola raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (2.7% yield, ex‑dividend March 13), beat Q earnings estimates with $0.58 EPS, set FY2026 guidance of 3.210–3.240, and carries a consensus analyst rating of Buy with a $84.40 target.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 51.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,924 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,725 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 4,043,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,132,000 after buying an additional 91,750 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 5,752,319 shares of the company's stock worth $381,494,000 after buying an additional 48,098 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in CocaCola by 82.3% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,296,000 after acquiring an additional 22,444 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in CocaCola by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 267,398 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,659,000 after acquiring an additional 20,141 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 2.6% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 92,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 23,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $1,847,595.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,383.25. This represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 250,688 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.14, for a total value 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 approximately $22,013,186.70. This represents a 47.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 892,925 shares of company stock worth $70,254,796. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on CocaCola from $88.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on CocaCola from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.40.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $77.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.31. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $65.35 and a 52 week high of $82.00. 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 capitalization of $333.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm had revenue of $11.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. On average, analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from CocaCola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.11%.

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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