Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC Buys 125 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,882 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. BNP Paribas began coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.38.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $162.89 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.30. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $192.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.71 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.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

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.