Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 20.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,521 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,269 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ossiam grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 73,604 shares of the company's stock worth $11,192,000 after acquiring an additional 42,793 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 124,797 shares of the company's stock worth $18,977,000 after acquiring an additional 13,461 shares during the last quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,783 shares of the company's stock worth $8,178,000 after acquiring an additional 6,865 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,899,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 147.6% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 14,692 shares of the company's stock worth $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 8,759 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Dbs Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $131.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,330,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,555,712. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.75 and a one year high of $180.91. The company has a market capitalization of $180.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $137.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

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.