PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Sold by WealthPlan Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• WealthPlan Investment Management LLC cut its PepsiCo stake by 46.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 39,626 shares and leaving it with 45,373 shares worth about $6.5 million.
• PepsiCo reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.61 versus the $1.55 estimate and revenue of $19.44 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share and continues a $10 billion stock buyback program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $170.37.

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC reduced its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 46.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,373 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,626 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 12.4% in the 4th 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 period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 138.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 3,502 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 536,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,789,000 after buying an additional 167,707 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.37.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $149.12 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $155.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

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

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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