RiverFront Investment Group LLC Grows Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,485 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 4.4% during the second quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 0.7% in the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 8,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. DZ Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.40.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.8 %

PEP stock opened at $171.38 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $173.92 and a 200-day moving average of $172.17. The company has a market cap of $235.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. 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.