Banco Santander S.A. Raises Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 586,340 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,662 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $38,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CocaCola in the second quarter worth about $3,846,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in CocaCola by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 367,441,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,996,519,000 after buying an additional 6,241,163 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in CocaCola by 7,239.2% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,149,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,086,000 after acquiring an additional 6,065,840 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 343.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,486,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,474,015 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 28.7% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 11,713,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $828,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,613,316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 337,824 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.10, for a total transaction of $26,046,230.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,410,296.60. This represents a 49.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on CocaCola from $88.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.33.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO opened at $80.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $346.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.74. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $65.35 and a 1 year high of $81.09.

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

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.11%.

Trending Headlines about CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised several quarterly and annual EPS forecasts for KO (Q1/Q2 2026–2027 and FY2026–FY2028), lifting FY2027 and FY2028 estimates and nudging nearer‑term quarter estimates higher — a direct fundamental reason for positive sentiment around earnings power and forward profitability. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi conference participation: CFO John Murphy will present at the Citi Global Consumer & Retail Conference on March 9, providing investors live access to management commentary and an earnings‑cycle update (could clarify strategy and outlook but is informational rather than catalytic). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational / strategic moves: Coca‑Cola is pausing U.S. availability of Topo Chico temporarily for production upgrades while promoting BodyArmor as the official NCAA March Madness sports drink and preparing a CEO transition — mixed near‑term supply disruption vs. marketing/brand gains and leadership change. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry context & comparisons: Analyst pieces weighing PepsiCo vs. Coca‑Cola and coverage of Keurig Dr Pepper’s plans provide sector framing — useful for relative valuation and positioning but not company‑specific catalysts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose sharply in February — shorted shares increased ~21.5% to ~41.2M (about 1.0% of float) with a ~1.8 days‑to‑cover — that can pressure sentiment and amplify downside on weak news or earnings. Data source: Market data

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.