Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases 1,244 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 41,762 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,170,529,000 after acquiring an additional 543,558 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125,059 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 2.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,098,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,057,359,000 after acquiring an additional 313,468 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $153.50 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.66 and a 200-day moving average of $162.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $210.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 3.53%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

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.