Scientech Research LLC Buys Shares of 1,970 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 75,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,902,000 after buying an additional 3,756 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in PepsiCo by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,258,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,731,000 after purchasing an additional 205,682 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 171,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,121,000 after purchasing an additional 22,036 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 10,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $170.05 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $173.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.12. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $233.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.83.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PEP. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. DZ Bank cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.20.

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.