Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Acquires Shares of 10,786 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,617,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TAGStone Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pflug Koory LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 7,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $131.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $132.60 and a 200 day moving average of $143.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.75 and a 52 week high of $180.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.75.

About PepsiCo

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.