Guardian Wealth Management Inc. Grows Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 26.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,814 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,319 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for 1.6% of Guardian Wealth Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Guardian Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the first quarter worth $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.73.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,596,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,334,833. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $133.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.99. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $180.91. The firm has a market cap of $196.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.45.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 103.64%.

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.