Rathbones Group PLC Sells 13,279 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC reduced its PepsiCo stake by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,279 shares and leaving it with 242,663 shares valued at about $34.8 million.
• PepsiCo beat earnings and revenue expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting EPS of $1.61 versus $1.55 expected and revenue of $19.44 billion versus $18.89 billion expected.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share from $1.42, while maintaining a $10 billion share repurchase authorization and a dividend yield of about 4.0%.

Rathbones Group PLC cut its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,663 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,279 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $34,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors increased 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 period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased 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 period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. increased 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 period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased 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 period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 65.8% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 577,111 shares of the company's stock worth $81,049,000 after acquiring an additional 229,121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of PEP opened at $149.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $204.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.45.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. 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 approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised shares of PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.11.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight PepsiCo’s portfolio reset, pricing power, and innovation in zero-sugar, functional, and “better-for-you” snacks and drinks as potential growth drivers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo India plans to invest Rs 5,700 crore through 2030 to expand capacity, which could support long-term growth in an important international market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: At the annual meeting, shareholders elected David W. Gibbs to the board and rejected proposals for an independent board chair and additional human-rights and animal-welfare reporting, suggesting governance issues remain in focus but are not a major near-term catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary comparing PepsiCo with Coca-Cola underscores that PEP is working to balance pricing power and distribution scale against margin pressure from higher input and operating costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say PepsiCo plans to raise prices on some smaller chip bags because of higher production, distribution, and retail expenses in the U.S., which may raise concerns about volume softness if consumers push back. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo reportedly cut its price target on PepsiCo to $160, adding to the cautious tone around near-term margins and execution. Article Title

About PepsiCo

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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