Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 1,339 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000. PepsiCo accounts for about 0.1% of Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 9,623.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,381,000 after buying an additional 3,026,611 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $329,179,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its position in PepsiCo by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,586 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470,064 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $177.99. 3,026,333 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,463,384. 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 capitalization of $244.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $174.31 and its 200 day moving average is $170.06. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.58.

PepsiCo 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.