Accel Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Accel Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 17.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for about 1.0% of Accel Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Accel Wealth Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,227,287,000 after buying an additional 578,083 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,430,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,127 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.64.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $162.60. 2,879,575 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,397,682. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.19. 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 $223.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $192.38.

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. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders 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 represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.