Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC raised its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,717,069,000 after buying an additional 582,254 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $2,729,565,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,494,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,818 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $130.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $143.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.88. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.16 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.69.

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.