Bridgewater Associates LP Reduces Stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 56.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,230,674 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,916,201 shares during the period. Coca-Cola accounts for about 0.9% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.05% of Coca-Cola worth $160,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 46.4% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 5.2% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 325,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,418,000 after purchasing an additional 16,198 shares during the last quarter. NCP Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.2% during the third quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Cadence Bank grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 70,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 3.5% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 29,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Coca-Cola to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.36.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.3 %

KO stock opened at $64.58 on Wednesday. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $57.47 and a one year 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $67.49 and its 200 day moving average is $66.59. The firm has a market cap of $278.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 22.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $6,403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.