CocaCola Company (The) $KO Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,289,857 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,195,581 shares during the period. CocaCola accounts for about 0.7% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $2,816,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CocaCola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $552,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 111,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,802,000 after buying an additional 30,786 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in CocaCola by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,296,000 after buying an additional 22,444 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 710,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,087,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in CocaCola by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 54,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,586,000 after buying an additional 14,076 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting CocaCola

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CocaCola

In other news, Chairman James Quincey sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.90, for a total value of $15,780,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 78,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,166,429.50. This represents a 71.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,074,096.90. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE KO opened at $79.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $65.35 and a 52 week high of $82.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $342.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.35.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 40.55%. The company had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KO. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.80.

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.