GAMMA Investing LLC Has $688.02 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 19,106.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,588,614 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,564,723 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $688,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $131.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $138.26 and its 200 day moving average is $147.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.75 and a 12 month high of $180.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

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.