Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Has $1.91 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,759 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 602 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report 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 research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Dbs Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $131.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $180.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $134.45 and a 200-day moving average of $144.73. 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 1-year low of $127.75 and a 1-year high of $180.91.

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 company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

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.