Exeter Financial LLC Buys 4,080 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Exeter Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,654 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,080 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises 2.1% of Exeter Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Exeter Financial LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 64.1% in the first quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 62,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,367,000 after acquiring an additional 24,408 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 19,217 shares of the company's stock worth $2,881,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 22,602 shares of the company's stock worth $3,389,000 after buying an additional 3,294 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,604 shares of the company's stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 88,042 shares of the company's stock worth $13,201,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $163.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. CICC Research reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas decreased their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $131.62. 12,988,871 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,558,275. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.75 and a 12-month high of $180.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.27. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (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 business 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 business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

PepsiCo 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.