2. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Share Price (as of June 9): $61.80
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is one of the best blue chip companies in the world, boasting worldwide sales, strong brand loyalty and pricing power for its beverages and snacks products. Priced at around $61 per share, it is also one of the most affordable stocks to buy.
The fact that The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has increased its dividend payments for the last 59 years in a row makes it even more attractive for investors to hold, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns 400 million shares of the company worth $24.79 billion, making it the firm’s largest shareholder. As of June 14, the beverage maker doles out a 2.97% yield to shareholders.
On May 9, research firm BofA added The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) to the firm’s “US 1” list, which is a collection of best investment ideas picked from among its coverage of US-listed stocks with a Buy rating. On April 26, Truist analyst Bill Chappell gave The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) a ‘Buy’ rating, and a revised price target of $75, up from $70. Chappell noted that the firm posted strong first quarter results with 18% organic growth, and reaffirmed its guidance for FY2022 despite increased cost pressures and headwinds from the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
For the first quarter, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) posted earnings per share of $0.64, above estimates by $0.06. Quarterly revenue of $10.5 billion outperformed analysts’ expectations by $670.8 million and increased 16.44% in contrast to the same period over last year.
Out of the 900+ elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 64 reported ownership of stakes in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) at the end of the first quarter, with a collective price tag of $29.17 billion. This is down from 70 hedge funds a quarter earlier.
ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, mentioned The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) in its Q4 2021 investor letter. Here’s what it said:
“Over the last year, we have repositioned our portfolio to navigate the course we see ahead. We added to more defensive areas of the portfolio like consumer staples (Coca-Cola). While the next month or two will likely prove choppy on account of the Omicron variant, we believe that Omicron, like Delta, represents a speed bump on the way to recovery rather than a true change in course. We see strong economic momentum continuing in 2022 and we expect interest rates to rise. After a decade of remarkably low rates, we would not be surprised if this change in direction is accompanied by some fits and starts in the markets. With our emphasis on pricing power, purposeful sector exposure, valuation discipline, and a strong dividend profile, we believe we are well-positioned for the year ahead.”
