Westchester Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Westchester Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,452 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 0.4% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 263.6% in the 2nd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on PEP. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.75.

PepsiCo Stock Up 3.7%

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $150.08 on Monday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $177.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $144.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.46.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 9th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. PepsiCo has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.120-8.120 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.17%.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.