Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 121,026 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Coca-Cola stake by 1.6% in Q1, buying 121,026 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 7,750,655 shares worth about $589.4 million.
• Coca-Cola continues to attract institutional interest overall, with several other investors also adding to positions and institutions now owning 70.26% of the stock.
• Wall Street remains constructive on KO: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $88.06, while Coca-Cola also recently posted earnings and revenue that beat expectations and raised its annual dividend for the 64th straight year.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,750,655 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 121,026 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of CocaCola worth $589,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 88,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,711,000 after acquiring an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 6.6% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 44,232 shares of the company's stock worth $3,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 8.8% in the first quarter. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 1.0% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 23,598 shares of the company's stock worth $1,795,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 494.0% in the first quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 44,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,354,000 after purchasing an additional 36,681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

More CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola declared its 64th consecutive annual dividend increase, reinforcing its status as a Dividend King and appealing to income-focused investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and Evercore ISI were both reported as bullish on KO, with Bank of America seeing about 15% upside and Evercore reiterating a buy rating, which can support investor confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Coca-Cola as a low-beta defensive stock as geopolitical tensions and market volatility increase demand for stable, dividend-paying names. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage on Coca-Cola’s digital push suggests the company is using data, personalization, and connected packaging to improve consumer engagement and repeat purchases, which could help long-term growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several comparison pieces versus PepsiCo, Johnson & Johnson, Keurig Dr Pepper, and Celsius kept KO in the spotlight as investors debate its valuation, yield, and defensive appeal, but these articles are mostly commentary rather than fresh company-specific catalysts.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $83.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial set a $88.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.06.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $84.25 on Tuesday. 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 Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.35 and a fifty-two week high of $85.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.32. The company has a market capitalization of $362.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.34.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total transaction of $2,000,505.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 157,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,128,734. This represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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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