W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Sells 613 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co reduced its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 613 shares during the quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $7,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 39,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE KO opened at $71.37 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.41. The stock has a market cap of $307.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a 52 week low of $57.93 and a 52 week high of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a positive change from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on KO. UBS Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.82.

Coca-Cola 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.