Options Solutions LLC Has $343,000 Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Options Solutions LLC increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,019 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Options Solutions LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 812.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $163.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $192.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.52.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.