S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Acquires Shares of 10,710 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 10,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,606,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,031,000 after buying an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $9,268,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 15,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,347,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $131.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $138.26 and a 200 day moving average of $147.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $180.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.75 and a 52 week high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released 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 company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. HSBC decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.