GFS Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

GFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,870 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 2.2% of GFS Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. GFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 3.8% during the first quarter. Matthew Goff Investment Advisor LLC now owns 66,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,922,000 after buying an additional 2,396 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 6.6% during the first quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 18,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,761,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Well Done LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 6.7% during the first quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the first quarter worth about $648,000. Finally, Adams Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 28.1% during the first quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 34,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,135,000 after buying an additional 7,522 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank lowered PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.2%

PepsiCo stock opened at $129.07 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.83. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.75 and a one year high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.