Heritage Wealth Advisors Acquires 6,735 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 271,118 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,735 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 2.0% of Heritage Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $41,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 16,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,556,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TAGStone Capital Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays downgraded PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $145.54 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $199.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $149.09 and its 200 day moving average is $158.50.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

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.