West Paces Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 20.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,783 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,929 shares during the quarter. CocaCola makes up 1.8% of West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $10,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 438.8% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CocaCola in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in CocaCola by 1,081.8% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CocaCola during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John Murphy sold 152,483 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.31, for a total value of $13,313,290.73. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 279,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,439,553.27. The trade was a 35.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Sanket Ray sold 9,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $861,367.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,105 shares in the company, valued at $5,372,082.50. The trade was a 13.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,465,160 shares of company stock worth $124,482,109 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on KO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on CocaCola from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.76.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong results and outlook support the rally: Coca-Cola’s latest quarter exceeded consensus estimates, with $0.97 in EPS and $13.37 billion in revenue. Sales increased 6.2% year over year, and management’s 2026 EPS guidance remains above $3.27 at the midpoint. Investors are now focused on whether momentum can continue through the second half. The debates that matter for KO stock
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised longer-term estimates: Zacks Research increased its FY2026 EPS estimate to $3.29 from $3.26, FY2027 to $3.51 from $3.47, and FY2028 to $3.74 from $3.71. It also lifted several quarterly forecasts, signaling confidence in Coca-Cola’s earnings trajectory despite a modest reduction to its Q3 2026 estimate. Coca-Cola analyst estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Income and defensive characteristics remain attractive: Coca-Cola’s long dividend-growth record, approximately 2.4% indicated yield, and status as a major Berkshire Hathaway holding continue to appeal to income-oriented investors. Coca-Cola dividend streak
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation is the key debate: KO trades at a premium multiple of roughly 26 times earnings. Strong growth and margin expansion may justify part of that premium, but the elevated valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments or slowing consumer demand. Coca-Cola valuation analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling could weigh on sentiment: Insider Sanket Ray sold 9,958 shares worth approximately $861,000, reducing his direct holdings by 13.8%. The transaction is not necessarily a fundamental warning, but it adds a cautionary signal after the stock’s strong advance. Coca-Cola insider stock sale

CocaCola Stock Performance

Shares of KO stock opened at $86.78 on Thursday. CocaCola Company has a 52-week low of $65.35 and a 52-week high of $90.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $373.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.65.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.17 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 28.56% and a return on equity of 39.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.66%.

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.