On March 3, 2023 at 11:28:52 ET an unusually large $93.97K block of Call contracts in PepsiCo (PEP) was sold, with a strike price of $185.00 / share, expiring in 105 days (on June 16, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 2.65 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 99.96 percentile of all recent large trades made in PEP options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Options Flow tool, where all large block option trades are tracked.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 11.48% Upside

As of March 3, 2023, the average one-year price target for PepsiCo is $193.22. The forecasts range from a low of $171.70 to a high of $224.28. The average price target represents an increase of 11.48% from its latest reported closing price of $173.32.

The projected annual revenue for PepsiCo is $88,791MM, an increase of 2.78%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is $7.36.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 4449 funds or institutions reporting positions in PepsiCo. This is an increase of 210 owner(s) or 4.95% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to PEP is 0.73%, a decrease of 13.85%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 1.44% to 1,114,278K shares. The put/call ratio of PEP is 0.86, indicating a bullish outlook.

What are large shareholders doing?

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 41,873K shares representing 3.04% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 41,189K shares, representing an increase of 1.64%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in PEP by 3.89% over the last quarter.

VFINX – Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 31,849K shares representing 2.31% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 31,285K shares, representing an increase of 1.77%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in PEP by 3.78% over the last quarter.

Bank Of America holds 25,721K shares representing 1.87% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 23,098K shares, representing an increase of 10.20%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in PEP by 99.88% over the last quarter.

Geode Capital Management holds 25,637K shares representing 1.86% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 25,370K shares, representing an increase of 1.04%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in PEP by 3.38% over the last quarter.

Invesco Qqq Trust, Series 1 holds 18,379K shares representing 1.33% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 20,262K shares, representing a decrease of 10.25%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in PEP by 2.03% over the last quarter.

PepsiCo Declares $1.15 Dividend

On February 1, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share ($4.60 annualized). Shareholders of record as of March 3, 2023 will receive the payment on March 31, 2023. Previously, the company paid $1.15 per share.

At the current share price of $173.32 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 2.65%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 2.92%, the lowest has been 2.47%, and the highest has been 3.82%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.28 (n=236).

The current dividend yield is 0.97 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.80. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.36%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

PepsiCo Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $67 billion in net revenue in 2019, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. “Winning with Purpose” reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business

This article originally appeared on Fintel