California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 81,505 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 0.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,958,572 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,505 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up approximately 0.5% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $757,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in CocaCola by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the first quarter worth $210,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 450.5% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 39,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,800,000 after buying an additional 32,392 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in CocaCola by 548.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Heavy call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for a rebound or expecting volatility around the stock. Traders bought 75,333 call options, well above the recent average. Quiver Quant article on Coca-Cola options activity and cyberattack
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted KO benefiting from its defensive profile as investors look for more stable dividend names ahead of earnings, which may be helping support interest in the stock despite the cybersecurity issue. Benzinga article on Coca-Cola stock movement
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola also announced a quarterly dividend, reinforcing its appeal as a high-quality income stock, though this is unlikely to be the main driver of today’s trading.
• Negative Sentiment: The fairlife cyberattack is the key negative catalyst, since it hit a growth brand and temporarily suspended U.S. production, raising fears of lost revenue and added recovery costs. Reuters article on fairlife production halt

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KO. TD Cowen lifted their price target on CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price objective on CocaCola in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Friday, June 26th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.81.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total value of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $18,074,096.90. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 CocaCola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 157,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,128,734. This represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

KO opened at $81.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $350.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.63. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $65.35 and a 52-week high of $85.68.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 EPS 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 net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. CocaCola’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

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.