Bernard Wealth Management Corp. Acquires New Shares in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.6%

PEP stock opened at $129.34 on Monday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month high of $180.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $177.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $139.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.20.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

PepsiCo 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.