Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Raises Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,645 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up approximately 0.8% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $26,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 4.9% in the first quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $130.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $134.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.20. 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 issued 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). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.69.

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.