Stratos Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Stratos Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 56.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,446 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,987 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,031,000 after buying an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in PepsiCo by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 470,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,527,000 after buying an additional 11,538 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 824 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $435,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $135.04. 7,714,987 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,065,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.65. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $180.91. The company has a market capitalization of $185.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $131.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.98.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.75.

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.