Suncoast Equity Management Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,154 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 93.2% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $149.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $204.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $148.94 and its 200 day moving average is $162.49.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 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 firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.