Clearbridge Investments LLC Trims Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,427,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 397,115 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $589,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KO. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 438.8% in the 4th 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 period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CocaCola by 1,081.8% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Performance

NYSE:KO opened at $79.63 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 has a market capitalization of $342.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $78.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.32. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.35 and a fifty-two week high of $82.66.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 2.7%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 23,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $1,847,595.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,383.25. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,074,096.90. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 255,505 shares of company stock valued at $20,187,007. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CocaCola from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial set a $85.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.80.

Key CocaCola News

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are rotating into defensive, dividend-paying stocks like Coca-Cola as market volatility increases, which is supporting demand for KO shares. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coca-Cola’s updated 2026 framework calls for 8%–9% comparable EPS growth and about $12.2 billion in free cash flow, reinforcing confidence in earnings and cash generation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst upgrades and higher price targets from firms including Barclays, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citi are helping support the shares. Article Title

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.