Private Advisor Group LLC Has $31.99 Million Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Private Advisor Group LLC lowered its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,067 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $31,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:PEP traded up $0.98 on Tuesday, reaching $176.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,209,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,664,637. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $196.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $243.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $170.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.57.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

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.