Vertex Planning Partners LLC Raises Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,871 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the third quarter worth $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $149.67 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $205.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.37.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.