PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Purchased by American National Bank

American National Bank grew its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,543 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the quarter. American National Bank’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its stake in PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.17.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEP traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.28. 10,545,614 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,523,915. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $192.38. The company has a market cap of $229.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.33.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.50%.

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.