Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group raised its stake in Coca‑Cola by 1.1%, acquiring 81,222 shares to hold 7,629,629 shares worth about $533.4 million (≈0.18% of the company).
• Q1 beat expectations: Coca‑Cola reported $0.86 EPS versus $0.81 expected and $12.47 billion in revenue (up 11.4% year‑over‑year), and set FY2026 guidance of $3.240–3.270 EPS.
• The company maintained its dividend ($0.53 quarterly, a 2.7% yield) and enjoys positive analyst sentiment with an average target near $86.27 and a consensus "Buy" rating.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,629,629 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 81,222 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.18% of CocaCola worth $533,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 380,350 shares of the company's stock worth $26,590,000 after purchasing an additional 31,691 shares during the period. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,468 shares of the company's stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the 4th quarter worth about $380,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 707,276 shares of the company's stock worth $49,446,000 after purchasing an additional 23,200 shares during the period. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 38,169 shares of the company's stock worth $2,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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: Q1 beat and dividend stability reinforce fundamentals — recent coverage highlights Coca‑Cola’s stronger-than-expected Q1 results and the company keeping its dividend policy steady, which supports income investors and underpins the long-term case. Is Coca-Cola’s Strong Q1 2026 Beat and Dividend Steadiness Altering The Investment Case For Coca-Cola (KO)?
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend-stock endorsements boost demand from conservative investors — several buy/hold pieces continue to list KO among reliable dividend names, supporting steady investor demand in volatile markets. Buy These 3 Dividend Stocks Today and Thank Yourself in 20 Years 10 Years, Zero Regrets: The Dividend Stocks I Keep Buying
• Neutral Sentiment: New-product innovation is lifting revenues but execution risk remains — reporting notes SKUs like Cherry Float, Zero Zero and POWERADE Power Water are contributing to topline growth, yet demand depends on consumer insights, pricing, and rollout execution; this is a potential growth driver if executed well but is not guaranteed. Coca-Cola's Innovation Pipeline: Is it Enough to Drive Demand? Coca-Cola's Innovation Pipeline: Is it Enough to Drive Demand?
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo’s cost-savings narrative could alter competitive dynamics — analyst coverage on PEP stresses productivity and margin resilience, a factor investors watch because stronger cost performance at PepsiCo may pressure Coca‑Cola’s pricing and market-share strategy. Can Productivity Savings Shield PepsiCo From Inflation Pressures?
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation uncertainty is a near-term headwind — recent writeups flag conflicting fair‑value estimates after recent share‑price moves, which can prompt profit‑taking and weigh on sentiment until analysts converge or fundamentals provide clearer upside. Coca-Cola (KO) Valuation Check After Recent Share Price Moves And Conflicting Fair Value Estimates

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 23,556 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $1,872,702.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,754,735. This represents a 9.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 28,765 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total value of $2,284,228.65. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 555,101 shares of company stock worth $44,208,566 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. TD Cowen boosted their target price on CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price target on CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.27.

CocaCola Stock Performance

CocaCola stock opened at $78.16 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $77.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $336.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.35. 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 one year low of $65.35 and a one year high of $82.00.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 40.55% and a net margin of 27.80%.The firm had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. CocaCola'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, sell-side analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

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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