Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC Buys 3,728 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 53.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,665 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,728 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 1.1% of Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PEP. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Avion Wealth lifted its position in PepsiCo by 61.7% during the 4th 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. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.92.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $168.51. 727,332 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,678,428. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $196.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

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.