Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,019 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the first quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 6,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 3.6% in the first quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 1.6% in the first quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 3,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. DZ Bank lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded up $1.20 on Monday, hitting $173.82. The company had a trading volume of 3,340,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,478,884. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $168.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

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.