PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Stock Holdings Lifted by AlphaCore Capital LLC

Key Points

• AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its PepsiCo stake by 57.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 10,306 shares to reach 28,182 shares valued at about $4.08 million.
• PepsiCo reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.61 and revenue of $19.44 billion, both topping analyst estimates and rising 8.5% from a year earlier.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share and continues its $10 billion share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 57.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,182 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,306 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company's stock worth $77,916,000 after acquiring an additional 19,218 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 622.3% in the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company's stock worth $5,110,000 after acquiring an additional 30,674 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 415,271 shares of the company's stock worth $59,600,000 after acquiring an additional 42,335 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in PepsiCo by 19.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 96.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 40,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,671,000 after purchasing an additional 19,829 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock opened at $149.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $203.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $155.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.42.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PEP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eight investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.37.

PepsiCo Company 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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