PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Position Raised by Principle Wealth Partners LLC

Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 29,920 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $175.58. The company had a trading volume of 4,472,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,365,961. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $196.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.40 and a 200-day moving average of $167.88. The firm has a market cap of $241.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

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.