Prentice Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,540 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $620,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 3,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.7 %

PEP traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $166.11. 2,487,051 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,482,658. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $192.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.37. The stock has a market cap of $228.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

About PepsiCo

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.