PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) Among Top New Picks Of First Eagle Investment Management

FMC Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FTI) is a troubled company that also found its way into First Eagle’s portfolio in the second quarter, with nearly 5.0 million shares valued at $207.34 million being purchased by the firm. The holding represented nearly 2.14% of the energy company’s outstanding shares. However, the move hasn’t worked out for the investment firm, as FMC Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FTI)’s shares slid by more than 17% in July on account of missing earnings expectations for the June quarter, coupled with management’s plan to cut its workforce in the subsea segment, which has been the most resilient for the company so far. While profits from surface technologies and energy infrastructure segments declined by 65% and 71% respectively during the trimester, the subsea segment registered a mere 5% slide. However, management’s latest move is because it expects the future environment to be tough for subsea. Ken Griffin‘s renowned managed futures fund, Citadel Investment Group is the largest stockholder of FMC Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FTI) among the funds that we track, owning some 4.53 million shares valued at $167.58 million as of March 31.

The third-largest new addition to Eveillard’s portfolio was PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP), with about 892,800 shares valued at $83.33 million being purchased. The beverage giant’s stock price has appreciated by about 4.5% year-to-date, while the soft drink beverages industry has only been able to post 2.47% gains during the same period. PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) is implementing a new strategy to boost Diet Pepsi’s sales by replacing aspartame as the artificial sweetener. Aspartame has been a cause for concern for many consumers and is also present in rival beverages including Diet Coke, Diet Dr Pepper, and Fanta Zero. A prominent shareholder of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) is Donald Yacktman‘s Yacktman Assset Management, holding about 22.35 million shares valued at $2.09 billion as of the end of June.

Disclosure: None