AE Wealth Management LLC Buys 51,649 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 23.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 268,863 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,649 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $44,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its stake in PepsiCo by 67.2% during the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,560,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832,385 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 125.2% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,740,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,631 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in PepsiCo by 429.3% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,454,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,922 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at $166,243,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at $148,336,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $174.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.64. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.70. The stock has a market cap of $240.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

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.