PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Bought by Fortis Group Advisors LLC

Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 22,293.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,301 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,255 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $161.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market cap of $221.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.51. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.48.

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

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PEP. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, January 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.83.

PepsiCo 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.