Vertrix Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Vertrix Wealth Management opened a new position in Coca-Cola during the first quarter, buying 42,970 shares valued at about $3.27 million.
• Institutional ownership in KO remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding 70.26% of the stock. Several major firms, including Vanguard, State Street, and Geode, also increased their stakes recently.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Coca-Cola, with 15 Buy ratings, one Hold rating, and a consensus target price of $86.88. Recent estimates were also lifted by firms including Deutsche Bank, TD Cowen, Jefferies, and Wells Fargo.

Vertrix Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 42,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,268,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $26,200,276,000 after acquiring an additional 5,886,352 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $11,734,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992,327 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CocaCola by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,273,037,000 after purchasing an additional 433,547 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the fourth quarter valued at $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in CocaCola by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,816,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,581 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on CocaCola in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 157,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,128,734. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.0%

CocaCola stock opened at $81.28 on Thursday. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $65.35 and a one year high of $84.04. The company's fifty day moving average price is $79.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $349.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.34.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $12.47 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. CocaCola's payout ratio is 66.67%.

Trending Headlines about CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola and Marriott announced a global beverage agreement that will place Coca-Cola products across Marriott’s hotel portfolio worldwide, expanding KO’s access to travelers and a major hospitality channel. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted that the Marriott deal covers nearly 10,000 hotels, which could broaden Coca-Cola’s international distribution and brand visibility in a high-traffic consumer setting. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to Coca-Cola’s strong brand power and steady market-share gains as supportive factors for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: KO also drew extra investor attention on Zacks, but that note did not include a specific new fundamental catalyst beyond increased interest in the stock. Article Title

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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