Hixon Zuercher LLC Raises Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hixon Zuercher LLC grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,969 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,221 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises approximately 1.6% of Hixon Zuercher LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Hixon Zuercher LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,031,000 after acquiring an additional 6,574 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 470,387 shares of the company's stock worth $71,527,000 after purchasing an additional 11,538 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,125,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 53,855 shares of the company's stock worth $8,219,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sonoma Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $449,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded up $1.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $136.50. 2,713,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,005,820. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The company has a market cap of $187.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $131.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.75.

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.