Congress Park Capital LLC Increases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Congress Park Capital LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,163 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,227,287,000 after purchasing an additional 578,083 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in PepsiCo by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,430,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,127 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,943,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,463,265. The stock has a market cap of $226.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.35. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $192.38.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 81.50%.

PepsiCo 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.