Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 2,000 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 12.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,598 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 77.5% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the first quarter worth $35,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.27.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.5 %

PepsiCo stock traded up $2.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,677,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,994,207. The company has a market capitalization of $228.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $192.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.86%. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.