World Equity Group Inc. Invests $613,000 in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,330,594,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 120.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235,726 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 112.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,040,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139,847 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 30.0% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,207,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in PepsiCo by 60.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,051,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $151.73 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The stock has a market cap of $207.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $158.67 and its 200-day moving average is $149.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid 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 is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 target price on PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus raised PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.00.

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.