Hughes Financial Services LLC Buys New Shares in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PEP. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.59.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $148.34 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The stock has a market cap of $203.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $148.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.29.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.99%.

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.