Tower Bridge Advisors Sells 3,344 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Tower Bridge Advisors decreased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,344 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up about 1.2% of Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $12,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,936,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,081,034,000 after buying an additional 1,761,785 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in PepsiCo by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 58,419,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,713,757,000 after acquiring an additional 920,045 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,675,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,301,240,000 after purchasing an additional 86,695 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,031,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,833,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,163 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter worth approximately $2,330,594,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $163.92 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $154.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.17. The stock has a market cap of $224.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The company had revenue of $29.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.83%.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.50.

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.