GAMMA Investing LLC Takes $1.96 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,963,000. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 0.5% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.7% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Cassia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Advisory LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded down $5.24 on Tuesday, hitting $171.22. The company had a trading volume of 9,134,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,799,144. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.55. The stock has a market cap of $235.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.02%.

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.