Mystic Asset Management Inc. Purchases 6,045 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 59.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,194 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,045 shares during the quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KO. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 399,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 80,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after buying an additional 31,979 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter worth about $221,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 87.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 60,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,369,000 after buying an additional 28,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 158,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,419,000 after buying an additional 13,110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. This represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total value of $3,941,055.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,533,008.09. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $301.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.59%.

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.