Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 33,161 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. by 3.9%, acquiring an additional 33,161 shares, bringing its total holding to 894,243 shares valued at approximately $134.08 million.
• Several hedge funds modified their holdings in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter, with expenditures leading to higher stakes, including a 333.6% increase from Prudential PLC.
• PepsiCo reported quarterly earnings beating estimates, with $2.12 earnings per share replacing the anticipated $2.03, showing a revenue of $22.73 billion compared to expectations of $22.28 billion.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 894,243 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,161 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.07% of PepsiCo worth $134,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,031,000 after acquiring an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 470,387 shares of the company's stock worth $71,527,000 after purchasing an additional 11,538 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the company's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 333.6% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 14,408 shares of the company's stock worth $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 11,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $75,235,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.73.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $139.28 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.63 and a 200-day moving average of $140.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.78.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $22.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.28 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.81% and a net margin of 8.23%. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 103.64%.

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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