Griffin Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,670 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was 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 directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8 %

PEP stock opened at $164.93 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $173.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.31. The company has a market cap of $226.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week 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 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. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.38.

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.