Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Takes $1.19 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,188,000. PepsiCo comprises about 1.1% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $177.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,266,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,666,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $243.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $196.88. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $170.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.70.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

PepsiCo Company 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.