Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 15,115 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,179 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,115 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $16,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, 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 report on Monday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $175.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $241.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.88. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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