Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd Raises Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd grew its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,678 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,364 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises 1.7% of Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 6.3% in the third quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 24,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,481,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 4.4% in the third quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 27,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,854,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, LeConte Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $164.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.75.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $143.78 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $160.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.58% and a net margin of 7.82%.The firm had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.17%.

About PepsiCo

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.