RiverFront Investment Group LLC Buys 290 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,485 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.4% during the second quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 8,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% in the first quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 3,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. DZ Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $183.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $182.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.40.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $171.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $235.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.17. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $183.41.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 78.66%.

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.