California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,958,572 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,505 shares during the quarter. CocaCola comprises about 0.5% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.23% of CocaCola worth $757,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Louisbourg Investments Inc. bought a new stake in CocaCola in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CocaCola by 438.8% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of CocaCola during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1,081.8% in the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in CocaCola in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CocaCola News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Heavy call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for a rebound or expecting volatility around the stock. Traders bought 75,333 call options, well above the recent average. Quiver Quant article on Coca-Cola options activity and cyberattack
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted KO benefiting from its defensive profile as investors look for more stable dividend names ahead of earnings, which may be helping support interest in the stock despite the cybersecurity issue. Benzinga article on Coca-Cola stock movement
• Neutral Sentiment: Coca-Cola also announced a quarterly dividend, reinforcing its appeal as a high-quality income stock, though this is unlikely to be the main driver of today’s trading.
• Negative Sentiment: The fairlife cyberattack is the key negative catalyst, since it hit a growth brand and temporarily suspended U.S. production, raising fears of lost revenue and added recovery costs. Reuters article on fairlife production halt

CocaCola Trading Down 4.0%

KO opened at $81.50 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average price is $81.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.63. CocaCola Company has a one year low of $65.35 and a one year high of $85.68. The stock has a market cap of $350.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.34.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. CocaCola’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, equities analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 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 is Tuesday, September 15th. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Insider Transactions at CocaCola

In other news, EVP Jennifer K. Mann sold 23,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.41, for a total transaction of $2,000,505.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 157,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,128,734. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KO. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of CocaCola from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.81.

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.