Walden Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 1,387 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Walden Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its stake in PepsiCo by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 4,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $166.14 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $228.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.40. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.17.

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.