Lokken Investment Group LLC Increases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Lokken Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,699 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler began coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $149.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.72.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

About PepsiCo

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.