Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $21.06 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,440 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,059 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $21,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $157.93.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded down $1.83 on Monday, hitting $141.41. The company had a trading volume of 554,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,214,075. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $180.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $132.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.04. The stock has a market cap of $193.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.28 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $1.4225 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 103.64%.

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.

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