Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock traded up $1.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $175.01. The company had a trading volume of 5,710,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,548,546. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.99. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $196.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PEP. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $185.00 to $176.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.77.

PepsiCo Company 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.