Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Raises Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,920 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up about 1.0% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $29,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,876,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,728,000 after buying an additional 121,742 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,258,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,296,000 after buying an additional 100,650 shares during the last quarter. Elevatus Welath Management increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Elevatus Welath Management now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 36,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,216,000 after buying an additional 3,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,165,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $163.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $192.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average of $170.26. The company has a market capitalization of $224.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.50%.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were 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 owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. BNP Paribas began coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.38.

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.