PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Position Lifted by Castle Wealth Management LLC

Castle Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,794 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Castle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,128,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,812,000 after buying an additional 286,169 shares during the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.7% in the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 29.3% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 117.2% in the first quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 8.5% in the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 26,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.1 %

PEP stock traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $174.13. The stock had a trading volume of 6,636,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,735,731. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $196.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $168.68 and a 200 day moving average of $167.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $27.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.92.

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.