Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Boosts Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,393 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 837 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.33.

PepsiCo Stock Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ:PEP traded up $5.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $176.84. The stock had a trading volume of 4,728,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,783,886. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.63. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year 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 $243.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was 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.