Natural Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 13,178 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,003,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 16,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084 shares during the last quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Miller Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,141,000. Finally, Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 17,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $156.25 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.62. 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 cap of $214.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business 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 earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.35.

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.