ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 537,750 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC increased its PepsiCo stake by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 537,750 shares and bringing its total holding to 3.41 million shares worth about $488.9 million.
• PepsiCo’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $1.61 on revenue of $19.44 billion, both above analyst estimates. Revenue rose 8.5% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 8.63.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share and approved a $10 billion buyback program, reinforcing its appeal as a defensive, income-oriented stock despite mixed analyst sentiment.

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,406,808 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 537,750 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 0.9% of ProShare Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.25% of PepsiCo worth $488,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 622.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company's stock worth $35,451,000 after acquiring an additional 40,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 96.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 40,383 shares of the company's stock worth $5,671,000 after acquiring an additional 19,829 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Argus raised shares of PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.11.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some market coverage points to PepsiCo as a possible momentum winner in consumer staples, suggesting investors are still rotating into defensive, dividend-paying names. Pepsi, Apple, and 9 More AI Momentum Trade Winners. Plus 4 Losers to Dump.
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to screen as an attractive income stock, with recent dividend-focused articles reinforcing its status as a long-running dividend grower. From High-Yield to High-Growth: 3 Stocks Boosting Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent pieces argue PepsiCo is fairly priced and not a bargain versus peers, which suggests limited near-term upside unless fundamentals improve further. PepsiCo: Fairly Priced, But Not A Deal Compared To Peers
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target on PepsiCo to $160 from $165 and kept an equal-weight rating, a sign that analysts see more limited near-term appreciation. Wells Fargo adjusts price target on PepsiCo to $160 from $165, maintains equalweight rating
• Negative Sentiment: One recent article noted PepsiCo has pulled back over the past week despite a strong first-quarter earnings report, which may be weighing on sentiment. PepsiCo's Next Big Rally Could Be Just Getting Started

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $149.06 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $155.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.41. The company has a market capitalization of $203.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48.

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

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 paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 89.32%.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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