Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC Trims Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC lowered its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,003 shares of the company’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Talbot Financial LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.3% during the third quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 47,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,097,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 5,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. boosted its position in PepsiCo by 1.6% during the third quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 4,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.0% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 17,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Argus cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.42.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PEP traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.15. 3,492,120 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,328,097. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $170.01 and its 200-day moving average is $168.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The company has a market cap of $242.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

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.