Verity & Verity LLC Has $9.54 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,867 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.7% during the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 8,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. increased its position in PepsiCo by 1.6% during the first quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 3,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PEP. Morgan Stanley cut shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $182.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. DZ Bank cut 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. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.40.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $171.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.17. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The stock has a market cap of $235.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.66%.

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.