Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Acquires 4,428 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,915 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,428 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $16,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $129.34 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $139.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market cap of $177.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. HSBC cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

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.