Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 30,502 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,112,600 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 30,502 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of CocaCola worth $312,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in CocaCola by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 374,771,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,200,276,000 after purchasing an additional 5,886,352 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 167,850,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,734,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992,327 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company's stock worth $6,273,037,000 after purchasing an additional 433,547 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company's stock worth $2,816,697,000 after buying an additional 1,195,581 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett reportedly said Coca-Cola remains one of his preferred businesses, reinforcing the company’s reputation as a durable, high-quality consumer staple and potentially supporting investor confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighting Coca-Cola as a top dividend stock and a favorite among large investors may help reinforce the stock’s defensive, income-oriented appeal. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage ahead of Q2 earnings suggests Wall Street is watching for pricing strength and margin gains, which could support the stock if Coca-Cola beats expectations again. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles simply preview Coca-Cola’s upcoming results and key metrics, indicating investor focus is centered on the earnings release rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market commentary noted Coca-Cola underperformed the broader market in the latest session, reflecting near-term selling pressure on the shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some analyst-style pieces argue investors could do better in other dividend stocks or Pepsico, which may create mild competition for Coca-Cola among income-focused buyers. Article Title

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $82.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $81.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.12. The stock has a market cap of $353.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.34. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $65.35 and a twelve month high of $85.68.

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

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. CocaCola's payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $34,960,398.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,842,608.29. This represents a 78.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total transaction of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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. Insiders sold a total of 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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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