MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Acquires 13,475 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,985 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,475 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 0.9% of MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $32,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock worth $9,031,000 after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $9,268,000. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,271 shares of the company's stock worth $2,018,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 35,467 shares of the company's stock worth $5,393,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Dbs Bank cut PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ PEP traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $131.92. The stock had a trading volume of 6,655,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,521,917. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.75 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The stock has a market cap of $180.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $138.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. 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 yield of 4.31%. PepsiCo's 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.