Eldred Rock Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Eldred Rock Partners LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,171 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,461 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for 3.6% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $10,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.4% during the second quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.7% during the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 8,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PEP. TD Cowen decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $182.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.29.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded down $0.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $167.97. The stock had a trading volume of 4,391,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,492,783. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $173.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

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.