LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Has $9.51 Million Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,017 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,157 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 1.4% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $179.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Citigroup raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.77.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,751,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,892,287. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $238.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.98.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

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.