ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 537,750 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,406,808 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 537,750 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises 0.9% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $488,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PEP. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PEP shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.11.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some market coverage points to PepsiCo as a possible momentum winner in consumer staples, suggesting investors are still rotating into defensive, dividend-paying names. Pepsi, Apple, and 9 More AI Momentum Trade Winners. Plus 4 Losers to Dump.
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to screen as an attractive income stock, with recent dividend-focused articles reinforcing its status as a long-running dividend grower. From High-Yield to High-Growth: 3 Stocks Boosting Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent pieces argue PepsiCo is fairly priced and not a bargain versus peers, which suggests limited near-term upside unless fundamentals improve further. PepsiCo: Fairly Priced, But Not A Deal Compared To Peers
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target on PepsiCo to $160 from $165 and kept an equal-weight rating, a sign that analysts see more limited near-term appreciation. Wells Fargo adjusts price target on PepsiCo to $160 from $165, maintains equalweight rating
• Negative Sentiment: One recent article noted PepsiCo has pulled back over the past week despite a strong first-quarter earnings report, which may be weighing on sentiment. PepsiCo’s Next Big Rally Could Be Just Getting Started

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $149.06 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $203.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $155.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.41.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.32%.

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

About PepsiCo

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.