WestEnd Advisors LLC Increases Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,945 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,130 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $38,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 59.0% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 141.3% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.92.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $166.82. 209,733 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,441,737. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.03 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $173.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.29.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 57.32%. The firm had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.