Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Trims Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank trimmed its Coca‑Cola stake by 13.4% in Q4, selling 326,496 shares and leaving it with 2,104,899 shares valued at about $147.15 million.
• Insider selling has been significant: CEO James Quincey sold 337,824 shares (~$26.0M) and CFO John Murphy sold 99,437 shares (~$8.0M), with insiders offloading 892,925 shares (~$70.25M) in the last 90 days.
• Analysts retain a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $85 (several firms raised targets), and Coca‑Cola increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 ($2.12 annualized, ~2.8% yield).

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,104,899 shares of the company's stock after selling 326,496 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in CocaCola were worth $147,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KO. BankPlus Trust Department raised its stake in CocaCola by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 43,992 shares of the company's stock worth $3,075,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CocaCola by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 42,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,006,000 after acquiring an additional 5,546 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 12,147 shares of the company's stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,570 shares of the company's stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 337,824 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.10, for a total transaction of $26,046,230.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,410,296.60. This trade represents a 49.65% 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, CFO John Murphy sold 99,437 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.42, for a total value of $7,996,723.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 410,550 shares in the company, valued at $33,016,431. This trade represents a 19.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 892,925 shares of company stock valued at $70,254,796 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on CocaCola from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price target on CocaCola from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price target on CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.00.

CocaCola Price Performance

CocaCola stock opened at $75.77 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $326.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.36. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $65.35 and a one year high of $82.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.46.

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

CocaCola Increases Dividend

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

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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