Meritage Portfolio Management Raises Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,206 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 229,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,010,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 29,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,079,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 11,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 30,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.24. The stock had a trading volume of 2,555,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,830,987. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $169.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.76. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $242.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PEP. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

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.