PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Acquired by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 36.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,508 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,420 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JSF Financial LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.8% in the second quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 15.4% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Consulting Group grew its stake in PepsiCo by 2.9% in the second quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 16,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Loop Capital set a $164.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.75.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $144.16 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $160.15. The company has a market capitalization of $197.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $146.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $23.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 108.17%.

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.