Eastover Investment Advisors LLC Has $6.65 Million Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Eastover Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,114 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,759 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises 3.1% of Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,560,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832,385 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 125.2% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,740,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523,631 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 429.3% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,454,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,922 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $166,243,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,547,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,234,400,000 after acquiring an additional 905,468 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $167.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $173.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.11. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $157.43 and a one year high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $229.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, DZ Bank cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.29.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.