Verity & Verity LLC Grows Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 57,867 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 141.3% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PEP. Morgan Stanley lowered PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Nine investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.40.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $171.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $173.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.17. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.37%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

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.