Griffith & Werner Inc. Takes $725,000 Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Griffith & Werner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $129.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $177.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.75 and a 12 month high of $180.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.42.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 83.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.