Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,893 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 7,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 2,462 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,221,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 23,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,033,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 4,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 50,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,589,000 after buying an additional 3,368 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $175.40 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $196.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $169.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $241.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.