31,808 PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Sold by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 83.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,808 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 118,281,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,015,363,000 after buying an additional 2,440,377 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,406,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,179,099,000 after acquiring an additional 987,582 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,283,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,146,000 after acquiring an additional 133,325 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 16.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,444,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,817,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,600,114,000 after acquiring an additional 549,336 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Top PepsiCo Stories

Investors following PEP have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain moderately optimistic about PepsiCo’s prospects despite its underperformance over the past year, offering some support for the longer-term outlook. PepsiCo Stock Outlook: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?
• Positive Sentiment: New seasonal flavors for Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Pepsi could help refresh the product lineup and attract holiday shoppers, though the article provides no sales outlook. PepsiCo launches new holiday flavors
• Negative Sentiment: The workforce reduction comes amid sluggish North American sales and declining beverage volumes, with consumers shifting away from sugary sodas. That suggests the company’s challenges are not limited to costs and may require a turnaround in demand. PepsiCo to cut about 1,000 North American jobs

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PEP. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, October 9th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $132.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $176.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.28.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $142.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $193.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.47 and a 12-month high of $171.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $133.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.70.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.05. PepsiCo had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 53.08%. The company had revenue of $25.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PepsiCo news, Director Robert C. Pohlad bought 184,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $128.28 per share, for a total transaction of $23,686,388.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 433,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,546,394.52. This trade represents a 74.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $4,053,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 491,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,435,988.85. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc. is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of products. Its portfolio includes snacks such as Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, as well as beverages including Pepsi, Gatorade and Mountain Dew. The company was formed in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories through retail, food-service and other distribution channels. PepsiCo is headquartered in Purchase, New York.