Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 21,129 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 157.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,539 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,129 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company's stock worth $20,280,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,133 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company's stock worth $4,717,069,000 after purchasing an additional 582,254 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company's stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $2,729,565,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in PepsiCo by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company's stock worth $2,494,300,000 after buying an additional 1,306,818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PEP. 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 research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank lowered PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ PEP opened at $129.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $177.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.75 and a one year high of $180.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $134.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.63.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 58.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

About PepsiCo

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.

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