WNY Asset Management LLC Has $1.30 Million Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

WNY Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,650 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,031,000 after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in PepsiCo by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 470,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,527,000 after purchasing an additional 11,538 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in PepsiCo by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 122,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,767,000 after purchasing an additional 13,857 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Bank increased its position in PepsiCo by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 10,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $143.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.11. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.78.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.81% and a net margin of 8.23%. The business had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.93.

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.