Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Invests $1.03 Million in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in PepsiCo by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,055,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,938,322,000 after purchasing an additional 489,175 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 95,514.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,876,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,746,023,000 after buying an additional 42,831,405 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,720,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,827,240,000 after buying an additional 4,629,947 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,423,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,736,000 after buying an additional 920,032 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,812,000 after buying an additional 595,357 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $185.00 to $176.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.77.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.8 %

PepsiCo stock traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.01. 5,710,539 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,548,546. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $168.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.99. The company has a market cap of $240.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.02%.

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.