Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $74.50 Million Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 451,697 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,884 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $74,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 77.5% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 141.3% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. DZ Bank lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen cut their price target on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $171.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $235.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 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.