Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 125 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,882 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 100.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $162.89 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a market cap of $223.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $173.37 and a 200 day moving average of $170.30. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $192.38.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 81.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PEP. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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 note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.38.

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.