Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,725 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 51.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,924 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,725 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $88.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $84.40.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 23,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $1,872,702.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,754,735. The trade was a 9.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 23,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $1,847,595.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,383.25. This represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 892,925 shares of company stock valued at $70,254,796 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CocaCola Stock Performance

KO stock opened at $77.56 on Friday. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $65.35 and a 1-year high of $82.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.31. The company has a market capitalization of $333.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.82 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.210-3.240 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from CocaCola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. CocaCola’s payout ratio is 67.11%.

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.