Waverton Investment Management Ltd Raises Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,611 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,500 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $41,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% in the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. LCM Capital Management Inc grew its position in PepsiCo by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 14,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,547,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PEP. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Up 3.0 %

PEP opened at $153.50 on Monday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.11. The company has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

PepsiCo Company 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.