Whipplewood Advisors LLC Makes New $70,000 Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 93.2% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $153.47 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.59 and a 200-day moving average of $161.60. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $210.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

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.