Howard Financial Services LTD. Increases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,742 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Ossiam increased its stake in PepsiCo by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 73,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,192,000 after purchasing an additional 42,793 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in PepsiCo by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 124,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,977,000 after purchasing an additional 13,461 shares during the period. Hutner Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,865 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $47,899,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 147.6% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 14,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 8,759 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $131.92 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $138.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.49. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.75 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of several research reports. Dbs Bank lowered PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. BNP Paribas cut their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their price target on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

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.