Emerald Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Emerald Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,810 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 99,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,968,000 after purchasing an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after acquiring an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 11.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,549,000 after acquiring an additional 34,633 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in PepsiCo by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after purchasing an additional 4,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $145.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $199.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.60.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

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.