Lafayette Investments Inc. Buys 3,638 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,805 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,638 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for about 1.5% of Lafayette Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. TAGStone Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company's stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company's stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 275 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pflug Koory LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 7,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note 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 note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.75.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $128.22 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $180.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

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.

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