Palisade Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Palisade Asset Management LLC raised its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,828 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,889 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for 1.7% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $15,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,747,000 after buying an additional 370,122 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $405,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.4% during the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.3 %

PEP stock traded down $0.61 on Wednesday, reaching $177.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,238,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,654,493. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88. The firm has a market cap of $243.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

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.