HBW Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 25,072 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 78,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,711,000 after purchasing an additional 12,406 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Vantage Wealth now owns 120,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,103,000 after buying an additional 14,505 shares during the period. Bennett Associates Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.8% in the first quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management now owns 2,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.4% during the first quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.4%

PEP opened at $130.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $179.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.83. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.75 and a 52 week 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.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for 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 for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.69.

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.