Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases 12,918 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 754,805 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,918 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $57,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KO. Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth about $4,476,000. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in CocaCola in the first quarter valued at about $347,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in CocaCola by 2.8% in the first quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 25,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 0.8% during the first quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 118,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,024,000 after purchasing an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CocaCola by 15.4% during the first quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Down 4.0%

NYSE KO opened at $81.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.63. CocaCola Company has a 12 month low of $65.35 and a 12 month high of $85.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. On average, analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $34,960,398.48. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 122,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. The trade was a 78.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. This trade represents 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 90 days, insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.81.

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.