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

Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. 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.

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

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $61.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $266.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.66 and its 200 day moving average is $66.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on KO. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.13.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. This trade represents a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Coca-Cola

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.