Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 527,145 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,597 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $82,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,875,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612,652 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,356,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079,970 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 14,857.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,068,777,000 after purchasing an additional 48,923,629 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,814,835,000 after purchasing an additional 360,936 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,090,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,031,646,000 after purchasing an additional 295,955 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $173.00 to $168.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 price objective on PepsiCo and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $172.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.40.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $142.51 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $194.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.63. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $132.96 and a one year high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.94%.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are betting PepsiCo’s turnaround is holding, with recent commentary pointing to better North American snack demand and improving volume trends after price resets and product innovation. PepsiCo Rises Ahead of Q2 Results as Investors Bet Turnaround Gains Are Holding
• Positive Sentiment: Several market previews suggest PepsiCo could post higher second-quarter sales, which would support the idea that its restructuring and growth initiatives are beginning to work. PepsiCo Projected to Post Higher 2Q Sales Despite Rocky Turnaround — Earnings Preview
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to describe PEP as attractive ahead of earnings, with implied post-earnings volatility indicating traders expect a meaningful move if results surprise. PepsiCo Stock Could Swing 4.16% After Earnings on Thursday
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane still rates PepsiCo “outperform” even after trimming its price target to $183, implying upside from current levels. Benzinga report on BNP Paribas Exane target cut
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo unveiled a whole grain oat-based shake and is trying again with Quaker drinks in the U.S., signaling ongoing product innovation but with unclear near-term financial impact. PepsiCo unveils whole grain oat-based shake
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts have recently trimmed price targets, and PepsiCo remains under pressure to prove its turnaround can offset softer U.S. sales and broader consumer-staples caution. PepsiCo (PEP) Price Target Trimmed at JP Morgan. Here is Why

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.