Westside Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,877 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in CocaCola were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in CocaCola by 5,142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in CocaCola by 148.4% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in CocaCola during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

CocaCola Stock Down 1.3%

KO stock opened at $68.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.72 and a 200 day moving average of $69.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. CocaCola Company has a 52 week low of $60.62 and a 52 week high of $74.38.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.40 billion during the quarter. CocaCola had a net margin of 27.34% and a return on equity of 43.62%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. CocaCola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Max R. Levchin bought 7,206 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $69.87 per share, for a total transaction of $503,483.22. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 14,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,835.29. This trade represents a 102.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 13,548 shares of CocaCola stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.93, for a total transaction of $947,411.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,109.25. This trade represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on KO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CocaCola from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CocaCola has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.31.

CocaCola 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.