LPL Financial LLC Buys 142,191 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,844,337 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 142,191 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $313,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,234,400,000 after buying an additional 905,468 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in PepsiCo by 7.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,632,000 after buying an additional 700,092 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in PepsiCo by 8.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,403,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,089,000 after purchasing an additional 561,465 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,130,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,030,000 after buying an additional 57,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 14.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,876,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,036,000 after purchasing an additional 492,888 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.92.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of PEP opened at $160.29 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.85 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $169.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.08. The stock has a market cap of $219.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $23.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.94%.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.