Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 58,761 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,192,523 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 58,761 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $328,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.00.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of PEP opened at $133.81 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $1.4225 dividend. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.