Coca-Cola Company (The) $KO Stock: Trek Financial LLC Raises Holdings

Trek Financial LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 404.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,476 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,053 shares during the quarter. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $3,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 80.8% during the third quarter. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 5,483 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 123,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 5.1% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,950,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,662,000 after purchasing an additional 191,490 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Coca-Cola by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 99,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,586,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. grew its position in Coca-Cola by 130.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 410,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,524,000 after buying an additional 232,100 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,761,319.45. The trade was a 72.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $4,519,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $20,186,798.70. The trade was a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 171,323 shares of company stock worth $15,507,286. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Coca-Cola

Here are the key news stories impacting Coca-Cola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pricing power is supporting margins. Coca-Cola has been passing higher costs on to consumers as inflation persists, demonstrating the strength of its brands and helping protect profitability. Coca-Cola Is Exercising its Pricing Power as Inflation Persists
• Positive Sentiment: New distribution wins add growth potential. Coca-Cola’s agreement to supply beverages to approximately 3,600 U.S. KFC restaurants beginning in 2027 gives the company additional volume and visibility in an important food-service channel. What Coca-Cola Holders Saw Early
• Positive Sentiment: Recent results reinforce the defensive investment case. Coca-Cola delivered quarterly EPS of $0.91 versus an $0.88 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 7.2% year over year to $13.35 billion. Analysts and investors also point to strong free-cash-flow margins, geographic diversification and a capital-light model that supports continued dividend growth. Coca-Cola Delivers Strong Growth – But is KO Stock Undervalued?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation may limit near-term upside. KO trades at approximately 28 times expected earnings, well above UPS at about 15 times, although Coca-Cola offers greater stability and a long record of dividend increases. The premium valuation means further gains likely depend on continued volume growth, successful new contracts and sustained earnings execution. Coca-Cola vs. UPS

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Coca-Cola from a “buy (a+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Coca-Cola from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.26.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $95.93 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.20. Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $67.27 and a fifty-two week high of $96.26. The firm has a market cap of $412.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 28.65%. Coca-Cola’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Coca-Cola Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.35%.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1886, it is best known for Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognized soft drink brands.

The company owns, licenses, and markets a broad portfolio of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and energy drinks. Its brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, smartwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, and Costa Coffee, among others.

The Coca-Cola Company serves consumers in more than 200 countries and territories through a system that includes company-operated operations, independent bottling partners, distributors, retailers, and food-service providers.