Westover Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 4,630 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Westover Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 130.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,181 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,630 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 120.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,916,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235,726 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,207,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,362 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,875,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612,652 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,597,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565,883 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 406.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,789,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436,216 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $150.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.11.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo extended and revised its licensing and bottling arrangements with Varun Beverages in India through 2049, while also giving the partner more freedom to pursue non-PepsiCo ventures. The longer-term deal should help protect distribution in a key growth market and reduce partnership uncertainty. Varun Beverages, PepsiCo revise licencing deal
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo is also being highlighted by market commentary as a strong growth stock and a defensive blue-chip income name, reinforcing investor interest in the company’s earnings stability and dividend profile. Here’s Why PepsiCo (PEP) is a Strong Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo launched new products and initiatives, including a functional ready-to-drink tea and a greenhouse program in Asia-Pacific, which support its innovation story but are unlikely to move the stock on their own. PepsiCo adds functional RTD tea
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also moving ahead with sustainability and regenerative agriculture efforts, which may help long-term brand positioning but are not immediate earnings catalysts. PepsiCo enters regen ag pact with LDC
• Negative Sentiment: Industry coverage continues to flag margin pressure from higher sugar, packaging and freight costs, along with tariff uncertainty. That backdrop could weigh on profitability for PepsiCo and other soft drink makers if costs stay elevated. 5 Soft Drinks Stocks to Track Amid Margin & Tariff Pressures
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo said it will raise prices on some smaller chip bags to offset increased costs. While this may help margins, it can also pressure volume and suggests inflation remains a headwind. Lay’s and Doritos maker to raise prices on small bags of chips

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.