Apella Capital LLC Raises Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 126.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,596 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,601 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Collier Financial acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PEP. UBS Group decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. CICC Research reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded down $0.63 on Thursday, reaching $131.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,544,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,581,310. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's 50-day moving average is $136.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.4225 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

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.