First Bank & Trust Boosts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

First Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 145.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,915 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $28,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 93.2% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $149.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.49. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. 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 cap of $204.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. HSBC reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

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.