Gradient Investments LLC Sells 44,686 Shares of CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 518,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,686 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $44,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KO. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CocaCola by 3.6% during the second quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Atomic Invest LLC lifted its holdings in CocaCola by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in CocaCola by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kwmg LLC lifted its stake in CocaCola by 2.0% in the third quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 6,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective (up from $83.00) on shares of CocaCola in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. HSBC upped their price objective on CocaCola from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on CocaCola from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on CocaCola from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $88.00 price objective on CocaCola in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.95.

CocaCola Price Performance

Shares of CocaCola stock traded up $2.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $87.87. 5,234,779 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,866,877. The business has a 50-day moving average of $88.01 and a 200 day moving average of $82.64. 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 capitalization of $378.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.32. CocaCola Company has a fifty-two week low of $66.00 and a fifty-two week high of $92.49.

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

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. CocaCola’s payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

Key Headlines Impacting CocaCola

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raised outlook supports the bull case. Coca-Cola has lifted its earnings outlook, following strong volume growth and a record of beating analyst expectations. The company recently reported quarterly revenue above estimates and earnings of $0.97 per share versus a $0.93 consensus, with revenue up 6.2% year over year. Coca-Cola Raises Its Outlook, Is The Stock Still Undervalued?
• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation is broadening Coca-Cola’s growth opportunities. The company is introducing or promoting zero-sugar and prebiotic beverages, including new banana and vanilla soda offerings, as it adapts to changing consumer preferences and increased GLP-1 drug use. Coke’s prebiotic soda, Starbucks-Chipotle tie-up, Modelo sales: Food roundup
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and income-investor support remains favorable. Wells Fargo reaffirmed its Buy rating, while commentary continues to highlight Coca-Cola’s global distribution network, approximately 28.5% net margin and long history of dividend increases. Wells Fargo Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Coca-Cola
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons with PepsiCo and Monster Beverage are favorable but subjective. Recent articles portray Coca-Cola as the steadier, more durable dividend investment than PepsiCo, while Monster offers faster growth and a stronger balance sheet. These comparisons reinforce KO’s defensive profile but do not create a new company-specific catalyst. Coca-Cola vs. Monster Beverage
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is the main risk. Despite its strong volume performance, repeated guidance increases and consistent earnings beats, analysts question whether investors are paying too much for Coca-Cola’s safety premium. With a forward valuation near 26 times earnings, further upside may require sustained growth rather than merely stable results. Is Coca-Cola’s Safety Premium Getting Too Expensive?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CocaCola news, Chairman James Quincey sold 381,140 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total transaction of $34,317,845.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 122,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,059,883.32. This trade represents a 75.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 Nancy Quan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $4,519,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,186,798.70. The trade was a 18.29% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 926,620 shares of company stock worth $83,075,714. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About CocaCola

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a global beverage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Its portfolio includes sparkling soft drinks, water, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages, and other ready-to-drink products. The company’s best-known brands include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, Powerade, Minute Maid, fairlife, and Georgia Coffee.

Founded in 1886, the company develops, owns, licenses, markets, and distributes beverage brands through a network of bottling partners, distributors, retailers, and food-service operators.