5 Best Defensive Stocks to Buy According to Ray Dalio

4. PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP)

Bridgewater Associates’ Stake Value: $634,801,000 

Percentage of Bridgewater Associates’ 13F Portfolio: 2.69%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 65

PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) has a 49-year track record of growing its dividends. On July 21, the company announced that its board of directors has increased its annualized cash dividend to $4.60 per share, up from $4.30 per share. The dividend is payable on September 30 to investors of record on September 2. As of September 21, PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) has gained 11.2% over the past twelve months and is offering a forward dividend yield of 2.72%, which the company backs with free cash flows of $6.3 billion.

On July 6, JPMorgan analyst Andrea Teixeira revised her price target on PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) to $185 from $186 and reiterated a buy-side Overweight rating on the shares. On July 7, Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Powers raised his price target on PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) to $178 from $175 and maintained a Hold rating on the shares.

Insider Monkey found 65 hedge funds long PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) at the end of Q2 2022. These funds held collective stakes of $5.28 billion in the company, up from $4.86 billion a quarter ago with 62 positions. The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive.

As of June 30, Bridgewater Associates owns more than 3.8 million shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) which amounts to a stake of $634.8 million. The investment covers 2.69% of Ray Dalio’s 13F portfolio.

Here is what ClearBridge Investments had to say about PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) in its second-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“Also in the stable and predictable cash flow camp, though with a very different business model, global food and beverage company PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) reported very strong organic growth in the first quarter, driven by healthy price/mix, and raised revenue guidance, while holding EPS guidance. Notably, its beverage business showed expanding margins.”