Hixon Zuercher LLC Grows Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Hixon Zuercher LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,346 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,763 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 1.6% of Hixon Zuercher LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Claris Advisors LLC MO lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 2,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.6% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 5,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,098,000 after buying an additional 36,239 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 25,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,342,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% in the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 26,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $148.16 on Monday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $160.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.02. The company has a market capitalization of $202.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.58% and a net margin of 7.82%.The company had revenue of $23.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 108.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Barclays lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.75.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.