Vantage Wealth Increases Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Vantage Wealth grew its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,733 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,505 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 4.1% of Vantage Wealth's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Vantage Wealth's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $18,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Osprey Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. TAGStone Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,271,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.1%

PEP traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, hitting $131.74. The company had a trading volume of 6,514,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,561,606. The company has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.75 and a 12-month high of $180.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $137.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.72.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company's 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. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend 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.