Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Increases Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 12.1% in the first quarter, now holding 201,202 shares valued at approximately $30.17 million.
• PepsiCo reported a quarterly EPS of $2.12, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.03, with revenue of $22.73 billion representing a 1.0% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 per share, marking an annualized dividend of $5.69 with a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201,202 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,667 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 1.2% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $30,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,174,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,268,027,000 after buying an additional 1,802,748 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,475,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,969,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258,198 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,494,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,818 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,062,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,108,585,000 after acquiring an additional 49,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,048,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,832,116,000 after acquiring an additional 831,148 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $149.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market cap of $204.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $136.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.67. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $179.73.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. The business had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued 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, September 5th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is 103.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.73.

PepsiCo Profile

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.

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