Billionaire Bridgewater Founder Ray Dalio’s Top 5 Holdings in 2023

4. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Value of Bridgewater Associates’ 13F Position: $505 million

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 62

Dalio trimmed his stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 4% during Q1, ending the quarter with 8.15 million shares. After four straight quarters of declining hedge fund ownership, there was a rebound in Q1, with the number of smart money managers long KO rising slightly. The stock also remains a favorite of another billionaire, defensively-focused investor, Warren Buffett.

As with most of Dalio’s top holdings, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is a world-class dividend stock, having increased the size of its payouts for 61 years running. Coke’s dividend yields 2.9% and the company’s payout ratio is right around its ten-year average of about 60%.

Evercore ISI was bullish on Coke’s Q1 results and sees the company as being favorably set up for the next one to two years as the dollar weakens and commodity inflation eases.

Carillon Tower noted The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s strong pricing power in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) sold off with consumer staples even as the company reported strong pricing for the second quarter. On average, product prices rose with management hinting at further momentum.”