Stephens Inc. AR Buys 39,516 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR increased its PepsiCo stake by 29.5% in the first quarter, buying 39,516 shares and bringing its total holdings to 173,304 shares valued at about $27.3 million.
• PepsiCo reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.61 versus estimates of $1.55 and revenue of $19.44 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share from $1.42, implying an annualized yield of about 4.1%, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $165.

Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,304 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,516 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $27,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 14,857.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company's stock worth $7,068,777,000 after purchasing an additional 48,923,629 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,018,813,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 16,146.5% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,586,423 shares of the company's stock worth $556,936,000 after buying an additional 3,564,348 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 120.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $830,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,235,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 30.0% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,207,230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,995,362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $144.22 on Monday. 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 cap of $197.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.36. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.96 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $146.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.76.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. The company 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PEP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $173.00 to $168.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $182.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $172.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $165.00.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS said defensive dividend names like PepsiCo could be ready for a comeback as investors look beyond the tech-led rally, which may help support demand for the stock. Article
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to be viewed as a high-quality dividend stock, with recent commentary highlighting it as an attractive dividend aristocrat and a stable defensive holding. Article
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a management promotion in Eastern Europe, which signals continued operational execution and regional leadership continuity. Article

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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