Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Boosts Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,414 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,609 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,876,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,728,000 after acquiring an additional 121,742 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 100,650 shares during the last quarter. Elevatus Welath Management boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $163.58 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $192.38. The company has a market cap of $224.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average of $170.26.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.38.

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.