PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Acquired by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,461 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,022 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $176.15. 3,492,120 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,328,097. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.46. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $196.88. The company has a market cap of $242.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

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.