664 Shares in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Purchased by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Avion Wealth grew its position in PepsiCo by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PEP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP opened at $169.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $232.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.58 and its 200 day moving average is $167.38. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.02%.

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.