International Assets Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,847 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $129.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.46. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.