Bell Asset Management Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Bell Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 127.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,082 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,800 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 2.1% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Kepos Capital LP acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 71.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PEP. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.00.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock traded down $3.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $177.92. 5,566,190 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,642,990. The company has a market cap of $244.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.98 and a 52-week high of $196.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $184.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.84.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 13th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.13. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 56.05%. The firm had revenue of $22.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.62%.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells 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.