Howard Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,348 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,952 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter worth $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 85.3% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 263.6% during the 2nd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on PepsiCo from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $157.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $146.00 to $145.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.95.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $152.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.72. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $172.98.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 9th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The company had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.120-8.120 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

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.