Bell Asset Management Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Bell Asset Management Ltd reduced its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 21.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,181 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up 1.9% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,936,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,081,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,785 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,675,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,301,240,000 after purchasing an additional 86,695 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,833,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,163 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 19.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,577,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,056,797,000 after buying an additional 2,541,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 11,525,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,728,180,000 after buying an additional 208,292 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PEP. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. HSBC upped their target price on PepsiCo from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.90.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $147.98 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $165.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.58% and a net margin of 7.82%.The firm had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.17%.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.