PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Stock: Machina Capital S.A.S. Decreases Stake

Machina Capital S.A.S. trimmed its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 82.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,579 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,638 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 118,281,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,015,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,377 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,406,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,179,099,000 after buying an additional 987,582 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,283,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,146,000 after buying an additional 133,325 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 16.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,444,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,243,000 after buying an additional 1,647,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,817,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,600,114,000 after buying an additional 549,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PEP. Evercore decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Freedom Broker raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PepsiCo from $138.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $133.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.28.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Pohlad acquired 184,646 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $128.28 per share, with a total value of $23,686,388.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 433,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,546,394.52. This trade represents a 74.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $4,053,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 491,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,435,988.85. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $142.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $193.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.47 and a 1-year high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.95 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 53.08%. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Investors following PEP have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain moderately optimistic about PepsiCo’s prospects despite its underperformance over the past year, offering some support for the longer-term outlook. PepsiCo Stock Outlook: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?
• Positive Sentiment: New seasonal flavors for Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Pepsi could help refresh the product lineup and attract holiday shoppers, though the article provides no sales outlook. PepsiCo launches new holiday flavors
• Negative Sentiment: The workforce reduction comes amid sluggish North American sales and declining beverage volumes, with consumers shifting away from sugary sodas. That suggests the company’s challenges are not limited to costs and may require a turnaround in demand. PepsiCo to cut about 1,000 North American jobs

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc. is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of products. Its portfolio includes snacks such as Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, as well as beverages including Pepsi, Gatorade and Mountain Dew. The company was formed in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories through retail, food-service and other distribution channels. PepsiCo is headquartered in Purchase, New York.