Legend Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,317 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1,401.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,411 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,747,000 after acquiring an additional 370,122 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,747,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $405,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after buying an additional 3,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marion Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 7,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.38.

PepsiCo Price Performance

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

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PepsiCo news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.