25,209 Shares in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP Purchased by SG Trading Solutions LLC

Key Points

• SG Trading Solutions LLC initiated a new position in PepsiCo, buying 25,209 shares valued at about $3.62 million. The stake represents roughly 0.8% of the fund’s portfolio and ranks as its 19th largest holding.
• PepsiCo’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $1.61 versus the $1.55 estimate and revenue of $19.44 billion topping forecasts. Revenue rose 8.5% year over year, and analysts still expect full-year EPS of 8.63.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share, or $5.92 annually, yielding about 4.2%. Despite that, analyst sentiment is mixed, with the stock carrying an overall Hold rating and a consensus price target of $167.10.

SG Trading Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 25,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,618,000. PepsiCo comprises about 0.8% of SG Trading Solutions LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in PepsiCo by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 554,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,916,000 after acquiring an additional 19,218 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in PepsiCo by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 415,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,600,000 after buying an additional 42,335 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 622.3% during the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 35,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,110,000 after buying an additional 30,674 shares during the period. Allstate Corp increased its stake in PepsiCo by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 104,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,030,000 after buying an additional 54,405 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,143,939 shares of the company's stock worth $451,218,000 after buying an additional 77,051 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. HSBC increased their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.10.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $142.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.35. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.31.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The company had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 92.94%.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc NASDAQ: PEP is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay's, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PEP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.