Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Purchases 34,936 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 2,017.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,668 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,936 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up approximately 1.5% of Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 70,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,563,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,012,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its position in PepsiCo by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 13,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Slagle Financial LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 33,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,083,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 649 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank downgraded PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.75.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $134.48. 7,759,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,075,337. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $184.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.93.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

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.