iA Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 103,344 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management increased its PepsiCo stake by 45.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 103,344 shares and bringing its total holding to 329,957 shares valued at about $47.4 million.
• PepsiCo’s most recent earnings topped expectations, with EPS of $1.61 versus $1.55 expected and revenue of $19.44 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share and has a new $10 billion share buyback authorization, signaling continued shareholder returns.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 45.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,957 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 103,344 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $47,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in 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 last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at about $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 138.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 3,790 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in PepsiCo by 10.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 38,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,039,000 after acquiring an additional 3,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in PepsiCo by 45.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 536,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,789,000 after acquiring an additional 167,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.37.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $149.12 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $155.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.42. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.32%.

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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