Private Advisor Group LLC Lowers Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,672 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,640 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $21,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.6% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 185,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,627 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 122.6% in the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 11,217 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 11.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,659,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,500,000 after buying an additional 1,330,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,451,000 after buying an additional 40,947 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $161.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $220.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $155.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PEP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.50.

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.