Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 22,700 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 258,857 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,700 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $36,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Facet Wealth Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 2,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hudock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 7,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Delta Asset Management LLC TN raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $169.15 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.79. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $231.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.40. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $170.75.

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 net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The company had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.83%.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.68.

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.