Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 150,672 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,640 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $21,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in 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 period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 667.7% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $161.53 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.38. The company has a market capitalization of $220.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

PepsiCo announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PEP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, January 9th. Evercore upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $191.00 target price on PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.50.

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.