Leonteq Securities AG Reduces Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Leonteq Securities AG sharply reduced its Coca-Cola stake in the first quarter, cutting holdings by 69.6% to 25,702 shares valued at about $1.96 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, including large transactions by EVP Nancy Quan and Chairman James Quincey; over the last 90 days, insiders sold nearly 900,000 shares worth $71.8 million.
• Coca-Cola continues to show solid fundamentals, with Q1 EPS of $0.86 beating estimates and revenue rising 11.4% year over year, while analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $86.88.

Leonteq Securities AG lowered its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 69.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,702 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,956 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG's holdings in CocaCola were worth $1,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 374,771,512 shares of the company's stock worth $26,200,276,000 after purchasing an additional 5,886,352 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in CocaCola by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 167,850,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,734,417,000 after buying an additional 1,992,327 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CocaCola by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,273,037,000 after buying an additional 433,547 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in CocaCola by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,816,697,000 after buying an additional 1,195,581 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total value of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $18,074,096.90. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. This represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of KO opened at $83.93 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.35 and a fifty-two week high of $84.14. The company has a market capitalization of $361.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola announced a global beverage agreement with Marriott International, making KO the worldwide beverage supplier across Marriott’s hotel portfolio and expanding access to a large travel and hospitality channel. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary and stock-screening coverage continue to frame Coca-Cola as an attractive dividend and blue-chip holding, citing improving revenue and profitability trends ahead of earnings. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market coverage singled out KO among five blue-chip stocks with potential second-half momentum, adding to bullish sentiment around the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Search and analyst-interest pieces noted that investors have been paying closer attention to Coca-Cola, but these articles were more about visibility than a specific new catalyst. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CocaCola from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.88.

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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