PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Shares Sold by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Yacktman Asset Management LP trimmed its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,028,631 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,682 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up 4.1% of Yacktman Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $291,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,031,000 after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the first quarter worth about $251,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 138.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 38,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after buying an additional 3,502 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 536,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,789,000 after buying an additional 167,707 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $154.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.50. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo announced a new partnership in the UAE’s Future Industries Lab to support SMEs and young Emiratis, reinforcing its innovation and local investment strategy. MoIAT expands Future Industries Lab with new PepsiCo partnership supporting SMEs and young Emiratis
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo and TalusAg Renewables announced a low-carbon ammonia agreement, an ESG-oriented move that could improve supply-chain sustainability and appeal to investors focused on emissions reduction. PepsiCo and TalusAg Renewables announce low-carbon ammonia attribute agreement to help accelerate fertilizer decarbonization
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted PepsiCo’s continued investment in China and its focus on international growth, product innovation, and cost discipline, which supports the long-term bull case. PepsiCo to ‘continue investing’ in Chinese market

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.26.

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.