Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Makes New $3.12 Million Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 20,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,116,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 21,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,354,000 after purchasing an additional 5,750 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 206,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,453,000 after acquiring an additional 16,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its position in PepsiCo by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 276,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $156.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $214.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.87.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

About PepsiCo

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.