Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd Takes $71.24 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 496,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,240,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,483,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,875,205,000 after buying an additional 1,612,652 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,499,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,356,155,000 after buying an additional 1,079,970 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,617,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,912,476,000 after buying an additional 958,701 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,902,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,250,290,000 after buying an additional 118,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 8,641,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,207,230,000 after buying an additional 1,995,362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $150.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $205.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.PepsiCo’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 89.32%.

PepsiCo declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus upgraded PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.11.

PepsiCo News Roundup

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 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.