Focus Partners Wealth Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in PepsiCo by 3.7% in Q3, buying 41,253 shares to hold 1,165,159 shares—about 0.09% of the company valued at roughly $163,657,000.
• PepsiCo authorized a $10.00 billion share buyback (up to 4.7% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 (annualized $5.69, ~3.6% yield) with a dividend payout ratio near 94.8%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-neutral with an average rating of "Hold" and a $169 average price target, though several firms have raised targets (HSBC to $175, Morgan Stanley to $180) and one service upgraded the stock to a Buy.

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,165,159 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,253 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.09% of PepsiCo worth $163,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth approximately $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.6% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 185,961 shares of the company's stock worth $24,554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,627 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 122.6% in the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 11,217 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 11.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,659,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,671,500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330,888 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in PepsiCo by 19.3% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,451,000 after purchasing an additional 40,947 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PEP. HSBC raised their price target on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised PepsiCo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $169.00.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $159.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $156.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.71. The stock has a market cap of $218.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.83%.

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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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