Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 7,017 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,710 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,017 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $131.45. The stock had a trading volume of 3,160,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,503,990. The firm has a market cap of $180.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.75 and a 52 week high of $180.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $138.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.72.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS 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 dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, CICC Research reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.69.

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.