Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Richard Bernstein Advisors reduced its PepsiCo stake by 52.4%, selling 22,333 shares and ending the quarter with 20,282 shares worth about $2.85 million.
• PepsiCo beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.26 vs. $2.24; revenue $29.34B), announced a $1.4225 quarterly dividend (annualized $5.69, ~3.5% yield) and a $10 billion share buyback (≈4.7% of shares), while analysts' consensus remains a "Hold" with an average target of $168.50.

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,282 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,333 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 667.7% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.50.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $161.53 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company's 50-day moving average price is $155.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The firm has a market cap of $220.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.83%.

PepsiCo declared that its board 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 reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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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