Westside Investment Management Inc. Buys 888 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,271 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,961,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,680,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,206,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,957,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,005,000 after buying an additional 2,966,964 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,701,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,373,000 after buying an additional 1,084,475 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013,996 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,984,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,565 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of Coca-Cola stock opened at $61.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $266.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $57.93 and a twelve month high of $73.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.66 and its 200 day moving average is $66.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on KO shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Coca-Cola from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen raised Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.