Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Acquires 6,597 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management raised its PepsiCo stake by 8.5%, buying 6,597 shares to hold 84,586 shares valued at about $11.87 million per its latest 13F filing.
• PepsiCo's board approved a $10.0 billion stock buyback (up to 4.7% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 ($5.69 annualized, ~3.6% yield; ex-dividend March 6).
• PepsiCo beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $2.26 and revenue of $29.34 billion (up 5.6% YoY), while analysts’ consensus is a "Hold" with an average price target of $169.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,586 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,597 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock worth $9,031,000 after acquiring an additional 6,574 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 138.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the company's stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 38,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 6,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $159.88 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $156.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.68.

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

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.00.

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.

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