Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. Acquires New Shares in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.38.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.93. 8,756,033 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,392,291. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $192.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $173.37 and its 200-day moving average is $170.31.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. Analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

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.