Whittier Trust Co. Increases Stake in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Coca‑Cola by 11.7% in Q4 to 204,404 shares (worth $13.87M), and roughly 70.26% of KO is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Significant insider selling: CEO James Quincey sold 250,688 shares and EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 23,880 shares, with insiders disposing of 892,925 shares worth about $70.25M in the past 90 days.
• Dividend lift and analyst optimism: Coca‑Cola raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, a 2.8% yield) and analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with a $85 consensus target after several upward revisions.

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 204,404 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,341 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $13,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KO. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in CocaCola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 23,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $1,847,595.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,383.25. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 250,688 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.14, for a total transaction of $19,839,448.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 278,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,013,186.70. The trade was a 47.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 892,925 shares of company stock worth $70,254,796 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $75.20 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $77.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.82. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $65.35 and a twelve month high of $82.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.36.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm had revenue of $11.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from CocaCola's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $85.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.00.

CocaCola Company 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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