Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 29.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,110 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,885 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.6% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 185,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,554,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 122.6% during the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 11,217 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,659,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,500,000 after buying an additional 1,330,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,451,000 after acquiring an additional 40,947 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $159.88 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $156.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $218.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.39. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The company had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

PepsiCo declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.00.

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.