PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Bought by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 48.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 260,703 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,685 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $36,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 667.7% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. DZ Bank raised PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.83.

PepsiCo Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $161.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $221.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $150.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.51. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The firm had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.83%.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.