Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 12,406 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,105 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,406 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,729,565,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 19,106.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,588,614 shares of the company's stock worth $688,017,000 after buying an additional 4,564,723 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,297,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.1%

PEP stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.74. The stock had a trading volume of 6,514,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,561,606. The firm has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $137.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.72. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91. 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 released its 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). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 83.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PEP. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

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.