Balefire LLC Purchases New Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Balefire LLC has invested approximately $322,000 in PepsiCo, acquiring 2,436 shares during the second quarter, reflecting growing interest from institutional investors.
• Analysts are optimistic about PepsiCo's growth, with a consensus target price of $158.60 and multiple brokerages giving it buy or hold ratings.
• PepsiCo recently reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $2.12, exceeding expectations and revealing a revenue of $22.73 billion.

Balefire LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PEP. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter worth approximately $946,978,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 19,106.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,588,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,017,000 after purchasing an additional 4,564,723 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 106.1% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,514,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $527,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809,391 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,174,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,268,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,297,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP traded up $1.03 on Friday, hitting $141.76. 12,355,480 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,696,786. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $144.39 and its 200 day moving average is $140.07. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $177.50. The company has a market capitalization of $194.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.46.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. The company's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. PepsiCo has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.038-8.038 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $146.00 to $145.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Four 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.60.

PepsiCo Company 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.