Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Buys 24,398 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Smithbridge Asset Management nearly doubled its PepsiCo stake in the fourth quarter, buying 24,398 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 50,427 shares valued at about $7.24 million.
• PepsiCo reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $1.61 per share versus estimates of $1.55 and revenue of $19.44 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share from $1.42, implying an annualized yield of about 4.1%, while analysts’ consensus rating remains Hold with an average price target of $169.58.

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 93.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,427 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,398 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in PepsiCo by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,916,000 after purchasing an additional 19,218 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in PepsiCo by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 415,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,600,000 after purchasing an additional 42,335 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 622.3% during the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,110,000 after purchasing an additional 30,674 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 108.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 104,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,030,000 after acquiring an additional 54,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 65.8% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 577,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,049,000 after acquiring an additional 229,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.1%

PEP stock opened at $144.32 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $151.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.44. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is 92.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.58.

PepsiCo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo expanded its autonomous logistics push by deploying driverless trucks to deliver chips and drinks across Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas, signaling potential cost savings and supply-chain efficiency gains. PepsiCo and Gatik launch commercial driverless trucking deployment
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that PepsiCo’s driverless Doritos fleet is already operating at scale and outpacing Tesla’s robotaxi rollout may be viewed as a win for PepsiCo’s innovation image and operational execution. PepsiCo’s driverless Doritos fleet outpaces Tesla’s robotaxis in North Texas
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo and Gatik said they launched the largest commercial driverless trucking deployment to date, which could boost investor confidence in PepsiCo’s logistics modernization and long-term margins. PepsiCo and Gatik launch commercial driverless trucking deployment
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo launched “House of Treats,” a new experiential beverage platform aimed at premium away-from-home channels, suggesting new growth opportunities beyond core soda and snacks. PEPSI® GLOBAL LAUNCHES PEPSI 'HOUSE OF TREATS' A NEW AWAY FROM HOME EXPERIENTIAL BEVERAGE PLATFORM
• Positive Sentiment: Several research-style articles argued PepsiCo remains a strong long-term growth or rebound candidate, which can reinforce bullish sentiment around the stock. Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ average recommendation remains “Hold,” indicating Wall Street is constructive but not aggressively bullish on the name right now. PepsiCo, Inc. NASDAQ: PEP Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo’s recent stock pullback has prompted valuation-focused commentary, suggesting some investors are weighing whether the shares have become cheaper after the decline. Is It Time To Reconsider PepsiCo (PEP) After The Recent 9% Share Price Pullback

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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