Berger Financial Group Inc Cuts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Berger Financial Group sharply reduced its PepsiCo stake by 86% in the first quarter, selling 37,832 shares and leaving it with 6,150 shares valued at about $955,000.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed, with several firms trimming price targets and ratings. The consensus view tracked by MarketBeat is now “Hold,” with an average target price of $165.
• PepsiCo’s fundamentals remain solid: it beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, raised its dividend to $1.48 per share, and now offers an annualized yield of 4.1%.

Berger Financial Group Inc cut its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 86.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,150 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,832 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PEP. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19.7% in the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,626 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the first quarter worth about $1,656,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 5.8% during the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 100,015 shares of the company's stock worth $15,531,000 after buying an additional 5,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.2% in the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PEP. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $178.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $144.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $173.00 to $168.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $173.00 to $164.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $165.00.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS said defensive dividend names like PepsiCo could be ready for a comeback as investors look beyond the tech-led rally, which may help support demand for the stock. Article
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to be viewed as a high-quality dividend stock, with recent commentary highlighting it as an attractive dividend aristocrat and a stable defensive holding. Article
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a management promotion in Eastern Europe, which signals continued operational execution and regional leadership continuity. Article

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $144.22 on Monday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.96 and a 12-month high of $171.48. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $146.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $197.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.36.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.94%.

About PepsiCo

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.

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