Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 45,319 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,974,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,319 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $160,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,865,807,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in CocaCola by 867.2% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,432,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,008,954,000 after purchasing an additional 12,939,959 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in CocaCola by 1,206.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 10,641,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,913,000 after purchasing an additional 9,826,768 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in CocaCola by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,182,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,809,146,000 after purchasing an additional 9,078,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,573,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,015,000 after purchasing an additional 6,246,627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Defensive-sector demand is supporting KO. Market commentary points to Coca-Cola’s stable cash flows and relatively low volatility as attractive while investors seek safety and quality amid changing interest-rate expectations. Why is Coca-Cola drawing steady demand as staples turn defensive today?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Coca-Cola to Rank #2, or “Buy.” The upgrade reflects improving expectations for the company’s earnings prospects and could provide a near-term sentiment boost. Coca-Cola upgraded to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating momentum remains constructive. Coca-Cola’s latest quarter included revenue growth of about 6% year over year and an earnings beat, while the company maintains fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.27–$3.30.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning is mixed but leans supportive. More institutions added KO shares than reduced them in the latest quarter, with notable additions from JPMorgan, Geode and Capital World Investors, although BlackRock, Capital Research and Invesco trimmed positions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst support is positive, but valuation may limit upside. Barclays and JPMorgan maintain “Overweight” ratings, while the reported median price target of $89.50 is close to the current trading level. Commentary also describes the valuation as stretched. Coca-Cola upgraded to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a cautionary signal. Company insiders made 30 open-market sales and no purchases over the past six months, including substantial sales by Chairman James Quincey and other senior executives.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman James Quincey sold 145,947 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $13,148,365.23. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,066,024.97. The trade was a 54.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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, CFO John Murphy sold 152,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.31, for a total value of $13,313,290.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 279,917 shares in the company, valued at $24,439,553.27. The trade was a 35.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 1,594,900 shares of company stock valued at $136,568,617 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of KO opened at $89.63 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $65.35 and a 12-month high of $92.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $385.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.33.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. CocaCola had a return on equity of 39.38% and a net margin of 28.56%.The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. Analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KO shares. HSBC lowered CocaCola from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CocaCola from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on CocaCola from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group set a $104.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.76.

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.