Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $65.55 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors increased its PepsiCo stake by 5.4% in the first quarter, ending with 422,083 shares valued at about $65.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally supportive: the stock has an average rating of Hold with an average price target of $166.85, while several firms recently raised or reiterated targets.
• PepsiCo continues to highlight its dividend appeal, raising its quarterly payout to $1.48 per share and extending its dividend growth streak to 54 years.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 422,083 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,538 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $65,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 838 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in PepsiCo by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. United Bank now owns 1,717 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.6% in the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,938 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,007 shares of the company's stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore upped their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Eight investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $166.85.

PepsiCo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s brand and growth efforts are getting fresh visibility, including marketing around “modern soda,” dirty-soda products, and broader consumer engagement. These trends could support beverage demand and help the company defend share in a changing soft-drink market.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains constructive overall: Citigroup kept a Buy rating even after trimming its price target to $170, implying meaningful upside from current levels. That helps reassure investors that the stock still looks attractively valued despite recent weakness.
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to stand out as a diversified dividend stock, with coverage highlighting its 54-year streak of dividend growth. For income-oriented investors, that long track record can provide support ahead of earnings. Article Title

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $141.39 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $128.11 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.01. 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 firm has a market cap of $193.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.35.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.PepsiCo's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 92.94%.

PepsiCo 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.

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