Swiss National Bank Raises Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,993,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 789,400 shares during the quarter. CocaCola comprises 0.5% of Swiss National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $912,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CocaCola by 438.8% in the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1,081.8% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO opened at $81.50 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.63. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $65.35 and a 52-week high of $85.68. The firm has a market cap of $350.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 3.26 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.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. Analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid 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 is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is 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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $7,946,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 181,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,412,772.64. This trade represents a 35.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,842,608.29. The trade was a 78.03% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.