PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Position Lifted by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,987,086 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 310,265 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,138,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 118,281,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,015,363,000 after buying an additional 2,440,377 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,406,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,179,099,000 after acquiring an additional 987,582 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,283,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,305,146,000 after acquiring an additional 133,325 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in PepsiCo by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,444,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647,506 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 4.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,817,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,600,114,000 after acquiring an additional 549,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PEP. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $133.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Deutsche Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $132.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.28.

Key Stories Impacting PepsiCo

Here are a few of the latest stories about PEP:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain moderately optimistic about PepsiCo’s prospects despite its underperformance over the past year, offering some support for the longer-term outlook. PepsiCo Stock Outlook: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?
• Positive Sentiment: New seasonal flavors for Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Pepsi could help refresh the product lineup and attract holiday shoppers, though the article provides no sales outlook. PepsiCo launches new holiday flavors
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo plans to eliminate about 1,000 North American jobs as part of a turnaround effort backed by activist investor Elliott. The cuts aim to simplify operations and improve productivity, but the financial benefit is not yet specified. PepsiCo plans 1,000 North America job cuts

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo news, Director Robert Pohlad acquired 184,646 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $128.28 per share, for a total transaction of $23,686,388.88. Following the acquisition, the director owned 433,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,546,394.52. This represents a 74.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ramon Laguarta sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $4,053,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 491,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,435,988.85. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $142.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $193.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.47 and a 12 month high of $171.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.95 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 53.08% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc. is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of products. Its portfolio includes snacks such as Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, as well as beverages including Pepsi, Gatorade and Mountain Dew. The company was formed in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories through retail, food-service and other distribution channels. PepsiCo is headquartered in Purchase, New York.