PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Acquired by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,585 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,294 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,227,287,000 after buying an additional 578,083 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after buying an additional 1,345,065 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,430,250,000 after buying an additional 1,105,127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.38.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $164.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.37 and its 200-day moving average is $170.31. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-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. The company has a market cap of $226.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

PepsiCo 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.