PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 554.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 460,460 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 390,136 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $66,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,916,000 after purchasing an additional 19,218 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 622.3% in the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,110,000 after acquiring an additional 30,674 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 415,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,600,000 after acquiring an additional 42,335 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,451,000 after acquiring an additional 40,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 96.5% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 40,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,671,000 after acquiring an additional 19,829 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $149.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $203.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $155.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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 purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 89.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Evercore increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned 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 $170.37.

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.