Hughes Financial Services LLC Acquires New Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in PepsiCo by 211.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after buying an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Bell Bank lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bell Bank now owns 3,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 53,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,125,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ROI Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $148.34 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $148.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.29. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $203.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. BNP Paribas cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 target price on the stock. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.59.

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.