West Coast Financial LLC Buys 278 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

West Coast Financial LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,232 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for 1.8% of West Coast Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $14,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 9,623.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,381,000 after buying an additional 3,026,611 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its stake in PepsiCo by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,259,000 after buying an additional 1,495,586 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after buying an additional 1,345,065 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of PEP stock traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $167.88. 1,825,815 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,487,621. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $173.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.36. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $230.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.