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

Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 728,435 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 142,095 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $50,925,000 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. grew its holdings in CocaCola by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 374,771,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,200,276,000 after buying an additional 5,886,352 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CocaCola by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 165,858,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,083,296,000 after buying an additional 923,278 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CocaCola by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,273,037,000 after buying an additional 433,547 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in CocaCola by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,697,000 after buying an additional 1,195,581 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated its buy view on Coca-Cola, reinforcing Wall Street’s generally favorable stance on KO and supporting the stock’s recent strength.
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Coca-Cola as a potential beneficiary of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with expectations that beverage volume and consumer spending could rise during the tournament.
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary also pointed to strong Q1 results, including an earnings and revenue beat, solid organic growth, and volume gains, which continue to underpin the bullish investment case. Coca-Cola’s Q1 Results Prove It’s a Good Buy to Hold and Hold
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest remains supported by Coca-Cola’s reliable dividend and defensive profile, which continue to attract income-focused buyers.
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Jennifer K. Mann disclosed a stock sale, but it was conducted under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan and tied to equity-award tax withholding, making it less of a concern than discretionary insider selling.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chairman owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 157,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,128,734. This trade represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on KO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on CocaCola in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.69.

CocaCola Price Performance

KO stock opened at $82.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.68. CocaCola Company has a 1 year low of $65.35 and a 1 year high of $84.04.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. CocaCola’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. Analysts anticipate that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

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.