Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,758 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $177.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,423,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,620,278. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $244.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

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.