Security Financial Services INC. Raises Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Security Financial Services INC. increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,943 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Security Financial Services INC.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 265,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,999,000 after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 17,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 960,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,778,000 after acquiring an additional 19,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,954,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Seven 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.15.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $167.64 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $192.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. 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.