Peterson Wealth Management Sells 3,354 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Peterson Wealth Management cut its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,354 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for about 1.0% of Peterson Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Peterson Wealth Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 120.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,902,000 after buying an additional 3,235,726 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,207,230,000 after buying an additional 1,995,362 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,875,205,000 after buying an additional 1,612,652 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,597,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,861,000 after buying an additional 1,565,883 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 406.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,789,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,895,000 after buying an additional 1,436,216 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Argus upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.26.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $154.62 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $211.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $157.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. Analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

PepsiCo declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo announced a new partnership in the UAE’s Future Industries Lab to support SMEs and young Emiratis, reinforcing its innovation and local investment strategy. MoIAT expands Future Industries Lab with new PepsiCo partnership supporting SMEs and young Emiratis
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo and TalusAg Renewables announced a low-carbon ammonia agreement, an ESG-oriented move that could improve supply-chain sustainability and appeal to investors focused on emissions reduction. PepsiCo and TalusAg Renewables announce low-carbon ammonia attribute agreement to help accelerate fertilizer decarbonization
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted PepsiCo’s continued investment in China and its focus on international growth, product innovation, and cost discipline, which supports the long-term bull case. PepsiCo to ‘continue investing’ in Chinese market

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.