Excalibur Management Corp Increases Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Excalibur Management Corp raised its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,209 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 306 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 1.0% of Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 10,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 2,270 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 30,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,687,000 after purchasing an additional 10,519 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $553,000. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 27,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Finally, Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $522,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $145.54 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.09 and its 200 day moving average is $158.50. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $199.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G 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.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PEP. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

About PepsiCo

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.