PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Acquired by Atwood & Palmer Inc.

Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,093 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ossiam increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 73,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,192,000 after purchasing an additional 42,793 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 124,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,977,000 after acquiring an additional 13,461 shares during the period. Hutner Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,178,000 after buying an additional 6,865 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $47,899,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 147.6% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 14,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 8,759 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $129.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $178.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. 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 twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month high of $180.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.76 and a 200-day moving average of $145.84.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PEP. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.