Schroder Investment Management Group Purchases 135,345 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,005,459 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 135,345 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $140,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 107.1% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 667.7% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.3%

PEP stock opened at $161.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.39. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.92% and a net margin of 8.77%.The company had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. HSBC increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on PepsiCo from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.50.

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.