PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $19,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. HSBC upped their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.37.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $149.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $155.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.42. The company has a market capitalization of $203.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.