M3 Advisory Group LLC Takes Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

M3 Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,227,287,000 after purchasing an additional 578,083 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,812,000 after acquiring an additional 595,357 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.4 %

PEP opened at $166.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $228.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $192.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $173.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PEP. Barclays lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.17.

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.