Sterling Investment Management LLC Makes New $2.96 Million Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Sterling Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 21,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,960,000. PepsiCo makes up 1.8% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Claris Advisors LLC MO increased its stake in PepsiCo by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 2,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 5,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 46.4% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,098,000 after buying an additional 36,239 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 25,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,342,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at approximately $872,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $172.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.75.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.1%

PEP stock opened at $144.16 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $160.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $146.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 0.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.58% and a net margin of 7.82%.PepsiCo’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 108.17%.

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.