FourThought Financial Partners LLC Buys 7,404 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 6.3%, buying 7,404 shares to hold 124,776 shares worth $17.524 million, representing 1.5% of its portfolio and the firm's 13th largest position.
• PepsiCo's board authorized a $10 billion share buyback (up to 4.7% of outstanding shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 per share (annualized $5.69, ~3.5% yield; payout ratio ~94.8%).
• PepsiCo beat expectations for the most recent quarter with EPS of $2.26 versus $2.24 expected and revenue of $29.34 billion (up 5.6% YoY), while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating and an average price target of $168.50.

FourThought Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 124,776 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,404 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for 1.5% of FourThought Financial Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. FourThought Financial Partners LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $17,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 667.7% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $161.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $155.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

PepsiCo declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 94.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.50.

PepsiCo Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.