Clearbridge Investments LLC Increases Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,405,977 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,951 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.10% of PepsiCo worth $231,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.2% in the second quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 8,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 3,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. DZ Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays increased their target price on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.40.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $171.38 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $235.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.17.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.66%.

PepsiCo Profile

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.