Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Raises Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,179 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,115 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $16,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PEP. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $175.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $241.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $169.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.88. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. Research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

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.