Simon Quick Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 41.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,512 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,578,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,664,721. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.75 and a 52-week high of $180.91. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $134.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

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). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.