PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Acquired by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,264 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 1.7% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,747,000 after purchasing an additional 370,122 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $405,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 1.4% during the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $172.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,790,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,670,573. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $168.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.42. The firm has a market cap of $236.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business 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 quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.02%.

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.