Keystone Financial Group Inc. Takes $69,000 Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. William Allan Corp lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 14,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in PepsiCo by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 54,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,321,000 after buying an additional 16,900 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in PepsiCo by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 264,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,269,000 after buying an additional 50,964 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $162,000. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 13,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after buying an additional 4,309 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic raised PepsiCo to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a $172.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock opened at $145.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $152.15 and a 200-day moving average of $164.39. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $199.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.94%.

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.