Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $8.28 Million Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 85.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,500 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after buying an additional 1,376,133 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,717,069,000 after buying an additional 582,254 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $2,729,565,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,494,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Dbs Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $163.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $130.85 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $134.63 and its 200-day moving average is $145.20. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $179.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

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). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 83.68%.

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.