Vista Investment Management Grows Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Vista Investment Management grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,186 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Vista Investment Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $164.63. 2,502,429 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,462,741. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $192.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $174.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced 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 return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.58.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About PepsiCo

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.