CocaCola Company (The) $KO Stock Purchased by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 16.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 80,484 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,392 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $7,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Athena Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 4.2% during the third quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,786,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 9.7% during the third quarter. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC now owns 11,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in CocaCola by 3.9% during the third quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 17,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Shipley& Co Ltd raised its position in CocaCola by 3.4% during the third quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd now owns 5,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 111,365 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.93, for a total value of $10,126,419.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,761,319.45. The trade was a 72.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Chairman James Quincey sold 381,140 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $34,317,845.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,059,883.32. This represents a 75.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 926,620 shares of company stock valued at $83,075,714. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up from $83.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group set a $104.00 target price on shares of CocaCola and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $89.00) on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of CocaCola in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CocaCola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.95.

CocaCola News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Potential Costa Coffee sale could improve capital allocation. Coca-Cola is reportedly revisiting a sale of Costa after its roughly $5 billion acquisition failed to deliver the expected growth. Exiting the business could allow management to refocus on its core beverage portfolio and potentially reduce exposure to a weaker-performing asset. Coca-Cola looks to sell Costa Coffee, Semafor reports
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term investment case remains supported by brand strength and operating efficiency. An analyst reiterated a buy view, citing Coca-Cola’s global brand equity, premium margins, asset-light concentrate model and bottler agreements. Emerging-market growth, particularly in Asia-Pacific, is also viewed as a potential source of future sales and market-share gains. Coca-Cola Is The Ultimate Compounder
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend reliability and earnings-growth expectations continue to attract income investors. Coca-Cola is being highlighted as a long-standing dividend compounder, while an investor case suggests earnings growth could support a share price near $100 before 2028. Its latest reported quarter also exceeded consensus earnings and revenue estimates, with full-year 2026 EPS guidance of $3.27 to $3.30. Prediction: Earnings Growth Will Push Coca-Cola Stock to $100 Before 2028
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional buying provides a modest positive signal. Diversified Management more than doubled its KO position in the third quarter, adding 9,434 shares. The purchase is supportive, although its relatively small size is unlikely to materially affect the stock. Diversified Management acquires Coca-Cola shares
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains the main constraint. Commentary notes that KO trades above its historical valuation range despite strong volume growth and repeated guidance increases. Analysts have questioned whether its “safety premium” and approximately 26-times earnings multiple already reflect much of the expected improvement. Is Coca-Cola’s Safety Premium Getting Too Expensive?

CocaCola Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $88.07 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.77. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $66.00 and a 1 year high of $92.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $378.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. CocaCola had a net margin of 28.56% and a return on equity of 39.38%. The company had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

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

CocaCola Profile

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Its portfolio includes sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and other ready-to-drink products. The company’s best-known brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, Powerade, Minute Maid, fairlife, and Georgia Coffee.

Founded in 1886, the company develops, owns, licenses, markets, and distributes beverage brands through a network of bottling partners, distributors, retailers, and food-service operators.