NovaPoint Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

NovaPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,671 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 794 shares during the quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.75.

PepsiCo Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $135.26 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The company has a market capitalization of $185.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.83.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. 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.