World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 55,460 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,830 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Topsail Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 21,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Opinicus Capital Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 6,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Argos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
PepsiCo News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:
PepsiCo Price Performance
PEP opened at $149.27 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $155.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.46. The company has a market cap of $204.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.38.
PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.
PepsiCo declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
PepsiCo Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.32%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.37.
View Our Latest Stock Report on PepsiCo
PepsiCo Company Profile
(
Free Report)
PepsiCo, Inc NASDAQ: PEP is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay's, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.
Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.
Further Reading

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