WFA of San Diego LLC Acquires Shares of 1,015 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 70.6% in the 2nd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Spotlight Asset Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 71.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other news, CFO Hugh F. Johnston sold 48,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.65, for a total transaction of $8,063,860.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 96,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,102,889.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $165.95. The stock had a trading volume of 362,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,876,122. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.71. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $196.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.60.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 10th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $23.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.41 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. Analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PEP. Argus cut their target price on PepsiCo from $212.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $203.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $187.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.57.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells 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.