Fortress Financial Group LLC Purchases New Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Fortress Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $130.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month high of $180.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $136.15 and a 200-day moving average of $146.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

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.