PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Acquired by Johnson Financial Group Inc.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,742 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $177.99. 3,447,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,466,001. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $192.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.52. 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 fifty day moving average price of $174.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.14.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.58.

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.