Simplicity Wealth LLC Grows Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 304.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,059 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,873 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock worth $9,031,000 after acquiring an additional 6,574 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,268,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $162,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $883,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Dbs Bank cut PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.4%

PEP stock traded up $1.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $131.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,844,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,635,097. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.75 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS 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 $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 83.68%.

About PepsiCo

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.