KFG Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 15.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,545 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. KFG Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 9,623.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,381,000 after buying an additional 3,026,611 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,259,000 after buying an additional 1,495,586 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after buying an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $162.60. 2,879,294 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,482,647. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $192.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.24. The firm has a market cap of $223.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.64.

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.