Apella Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Apella Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 41.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 35,818 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,525 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,886,352 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in CocaCola by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 167,850,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,734,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992,327 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CocaCola by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,273,037,000 after purchasing an additional 433,547 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in CocaCola by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,816,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,581 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of KO stock opened at $80.38 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.35 and a fifty-two week high of $84.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $345.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. Research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on KO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total transaction of $2,559,411.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,074,096.90. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 157,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,128,734. The trade was a 13.22% 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. Insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $71,832,315 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About CocaCola

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.