Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,713 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KO. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $27,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Coca-Cola during the first quarter valued at $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of KO stock opened at $63.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.61. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.06 and a fifty-two week high of $73.53. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.43.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The business had revenue of $11.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on KO. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 18,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $1,321,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,968,095. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 42,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $2,968,637.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 442,546 shares in the company, valued at $30,987,070.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,748 shares of company stock valued at $14,274,431 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

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.