First County Bank CT Raises Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

First County Bank CT raised its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,362 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 549 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,271,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.0%

PepsiCo stock opened at $131.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.75 and a 12-month high of $180.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $138.26 and a 200 day moving average of $147.49.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on PEP shares. HSBC reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Dbs Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.69.

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.