Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Boosts Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 79,740 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,990 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in PepsiCo by 3.6% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,916,000 after buying an additional 19,218 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 622.3% during the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,110,000 after buying an additional 30,674 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in PepsiCo by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 415,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,600,000 after buying an additional 42,335 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 252,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,451,000 after buying an additional 40,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 96.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 40,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,671,000 after buying an additional 19,829 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $149.12 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.42. The firm has a market cap of $203.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) 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. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

PepsiCo announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.37.

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.