Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. Boosts Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 36.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,196 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,100 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for about 2.6% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup decreased 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. Bank of America dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. CICC Research reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $129.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,116,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,473,654. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $139.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.75 and a 1-year high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. 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.