Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 6,724 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,854 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,724 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $4,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 374,771,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,200,276,000 after buying an additional 5,886,352 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in CocaCola by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 167,850,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,734,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992,327 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $6,273,037,000 after purchasing an additional 433,547 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in CocaCola in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in CocaCola by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,581 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CocaCola News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media outlets are spotlighting KO as a rock-solid dividend stock for long-term investors, reinforcing its appeal to income-focused buyers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Coca-Cola’s 64th dividend increase underscores the company’s long track record of returning cash to shareholders, which can attract dividend investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also points to KO’s digital push, with data-driven marketing and connected packaging seen as potential supports for engagement and future growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compare KO with peers like PepsiCo, Johnson & Johnson, and Keurig Dr Pepper, but these pieces are largely valuation and income comparisons rather than catalysts that would materially change near-term fundamentals. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: KO is also being mentioned as a low-beta defensive name as investors rotate toward stability amid geopolitical tension and volatility, which supports the stock’s defensive profile but is not a direct company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One article estimated how many shares would be needed to generate $12,000 in annual dividend income, which mainly highlights KO’s suitability for income planning rather than signaling a business change. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary frames KO as an expensive, low-growth premium stock versus peers like Keurig Dr Pepper, which could weigh on sentiment if investors focus on valuation rather than stability. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KO. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $83.00 price target on CocaCola in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price objective on CocaCola in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.44.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $83.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $357.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. CocaCola Company has a twelve month low of $65.35 and a twelve month high of $85.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.41.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The business had revenue of $12.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In other CocaCola news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $34,960,398.48. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,842,608.29. The trade was a 78.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total value of $2,000,505.44. Following the completion of 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 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 have sold a total of 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.