BNP Paribas Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• BNP Paribas increased its PepsiCo stake by 50.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 20,603 shares to bring its total to 61,326 shares valued at about $8.8 million.
• PepsiCo beat earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarterly report, posting EPS of $1.61 versus $1.55 expected and revenue of $19.44 billion versus $18.89 billion expected.
• The company raised its dividend and maintains a large buyback program, lifting the quarterly payout to $1.48 per share and authorizing a $10 billion share repurchase plan.

BNP Paribas boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 50.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,326 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,603 shares during the period. BNP Paribas' holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 838 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. United Bank now owns 1,717 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,007 shares of the company's stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.6% during the third quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 11,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,545,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.8% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,602 shares of the company's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $141.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $193.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 92.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Argus raised shares of PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.11.

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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