Independent Financial Group LLC Invests $2.63 Million in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 34,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,628,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 0.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 40,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 26,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,041,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 3,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC grew its stake in CocaCola by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 7,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Harmony Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in CocaCola by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 3,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 157,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,128,734. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.81.

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

CocaCola Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of KO opened at $81.50 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $65.35 and a 52-week high of $85.68. 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 fifty day moving average is $81.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.63. The stock has a market cap 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.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

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

CocaCola 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.