Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Reduces Stock Holdings in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its stake in CocaCola by 4.6%, now holding 178,810 shares worth approximately $12.8 million after selling 8,550 shares in the first quarter.
• CocaCola recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, amounting to a 3.0% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 72.34%.
• In the last 90 days, insiders sold a total of 415,387 shares of CocaCola stock, worth nearly $30 million, indicating potential shifts in management confidence.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP trimmed its stake in shares of CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 178,810 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,550 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings in CocaCola were worth $12,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Republic Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of CocaCola by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 8,662 shares of the company's stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC boosted its position in CocaCola by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in CocaCola by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 20,099 shares of the company's stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC boosted its position in CocaCola by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the company's stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, BXM Wealth LLC boosted its position in CocaCola by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 266,403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $19,197,000.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,884,668.76. The trade was a 49.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 37,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total transaction of $2,584,063.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 209,513 shares in the company, valued at $14,477,348.30. The trade was a 15.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of CocaCola to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of CocaCola from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CocaCola in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CocaCola from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $76.00 price objective on CocaCola and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.21.

CocaCola Stock Performance

CocaCola stock traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $70.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,784,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,805,632. CocaCola Company has a 1-year low of $60.62 and a 1-year high of $74.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.78. The company has a market cap of $303.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.55 billion. CocaCola had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CocaCola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. CocaCola's payout ratio is 72.34%.

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.