Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Buys 19,436 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 115,095 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,436 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $7,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CocaCola by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,885,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,464,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,189 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter worth $3,846,270,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in CocaCola by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,281,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,930,170,000 after purchasing an additional 285,794 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,328,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,791,962,000 after buying an additional 2,497,585 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of CocaCola by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,495,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,292,960,000 after buying an additional 938,116 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on CocaCola from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CocaCola from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $88.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on CocaCola from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CocaCola news, CEO James Quincey sold 337,824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.10, for a total value of $26,046,230.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,410,296.60. This trade represents a 49.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of CocaCola stock opened at $80.48 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $346.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.74. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $65.35 and a 52-week high of $81.09.

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

CocaCola Increases Dividend

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

More CocaCola News

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 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.