Vestcor Inc Grows Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Vestcor Inc raised its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 40.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 212,618 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 61,008 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $14,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CocaCola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 21,326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.75, for a total transaction of $1,722,074.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 173,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,028,536. The trade was a 10.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 28,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total transaction of $2,284,228.65. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 869,045 shares of company stock worth $68,407,201 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on CocaCola from $88.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.33.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO opened at $77.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.12. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.35 and a fifty-two week high of $82.00. The firm has a market cap of $331.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.04 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 27.34%.The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.11%.

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.