PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Purchased by Atlas Brown Inc.

Atlas Brown Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,193 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 1.6% of Atlas Brown Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 35,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,992,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 115.3% during the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 8,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after buying an additional 4,464 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 99.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 492,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,420,000 after buying an additional 245,601 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after buying an additional 1,669 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $166.48 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.76 and its 200-day moving average is $170.36. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $192.38. 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 company has a market cap of $228.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.52.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PEP. Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.17.

PepsiCo 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.