Captrust Financial Advisors Purchases 100,149 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 654,947 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100,149 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $93,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,875,205,000 after buying an additional 1,612,652 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,356,155,000 after buying an additional 1,079,970 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,814,835,000 after buying an additional 360,936 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,090,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,031,646,000 after buying an additional 295,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,018,813,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo announced its 54th consecutive annual dividend increase, reinforcing its appeal as a defensive, income-generating stock at a time when Treasury yields are elevated. PepsiCo’s 3.9% Yield Is a Safe-Haven Masterclass
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo debuted a new limited-edition soda, which could help drive short-term consumer interest and support beverage sales. PepsiCo just debuted a new limited-edition soda that’s guaranteed to sell out
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to highlight future growth initiatives, including experiential drinks and regenerative farming partnerships, which suggest management is still investing in new revenue streams. PepsiCo Targets Experiential Drinks And Regenerative Farming For Future Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo senior director Maneesha Khanna stepped down after 13 years; this looks like a personnel change rather than a material business event. PepsiCo Senior Director Maneesha Khanna steps down after 13 years
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo was mentioned in articles about broader S&P 500 ideas and sustainability events, but those items do not appear to change the company’s near-term fundamentals. Sustainability LIVE Announces Final Week to Register for The Leadership Summit
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler lowered its price target on PepsiCo, which can weigh on sentiment by signaling a more cautious outlook for the stock’s upside. PepsiCo (PEP) Price Target Lowered at Piper Sandler. Here is Why

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.1%

PEP stock opened at $146.12 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.40. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $199.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.35.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The business had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PEP. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.35.

PepsiCo Company 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.