5 Best Dividend Stocks for Long Term

3. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 61
Dividend Yield: 2.87%

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) is a global food and beverage company. The company’s brands and products include Doritos, Lay’s Ruffles, Aunt Jemima products, and a range of others spread across the food and beverage sector. It ranks 3rd on our list of the best dividend stocks for long term.

This May, PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) inked a partnership with FAT Brands and also launched its new sparkling water beverage, Soulboost. The company has also received positive responses from Morgan Stanley, which has an Overweight rating and a $165 price target on PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) shares. Analyst Dara Mohsenian has commented that the firm is expecting robust Q2 earnings from the company, which will act as a catalyst for the stock. Deutsche Bank also raised its price target on PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) from $147 to $149 this June, while in April, UBS upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $165 price target as well.

In the first quarter of 2021, PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) had an EPS of $1.21, beating estimates by $0.09. The company’s revenue was $14.82 billion, up 6.76% year over year and beating estimates by $275.81 million, and it has a gross profit margin of 54.73%. The stock has gained 3.89% in the past 6 months and 3.83% year to date. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) has regularly made dividend payments for about 49 years, resulting in the stock being considered as a dividend champion.

As of the end of the first quarter of 2021, 61 hedge funds out of the 866 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) worth roughly $4.88 billion. This is compared to 56 hedge funds in the previous quarter with a total stake value of about $4.28 billion.