Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 30.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,967,404 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 690,276 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.22% of PepsiCo worth $416,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 667.7% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $159.88 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $156.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.71. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48. The company has a market capitalization of $218.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. HSBC raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.00.

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.