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

3. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Value of Bridgewater Associates’ 13F Position: $512 million

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 72

Bridgewater sold off 8% of its PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) holding in Q1, leaving it with 2.81 million shares on March 31. Hedge fund ownership of the beverage and snacks giant is hovering near ten-year highs and is beginning to open up a gap on rival Coke, which it has traditionally been slightly more popular than in terms of smart money sentiment.

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) is another dividend king beverage giant that Dalio loves, and one which is growing sales at a double-digit rate to easily outpace its rival. Pepsi flexed its own pricing power during the latest quarter, as prices were up 16% year-over-year while organic volume dipped by just 2% in response. Pepsi’s dividend yield is lower than Coke’s and its payout ratio is higher, so it’s not quite as attractive from a dividend perspective, but there’s otherwise a lot to like about the company’s momentum right now.

The Madison Sustainable Equity Fund discussed PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)’s efforts to reduce water usage in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) announced that it will commit $3.3 million in funds toward water replenishment projects across North America. These projects aim to reduce absolute water use and replenish back into the local watershed more than 100% of the water used at company-owned and third-part sites in high water-risk areas.”