PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,110,484 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 111,517 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $168,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PEP. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.6%

PepsiCo stock opened at $131.37 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $138.84 and its 200-day moving average is $147.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.75 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The company has a market cap of $180.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.68%.

PepsiCo 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.