New Century Financial Group LLC Grows Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 134.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,092 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,942 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up approximately 0.8% of New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 77.5% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 141.3% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.92.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $175.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.03 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $173.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.14.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.94%.

PepsiCo 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.