Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Invests $1.19 Million in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,000. PepsiCo comprises approximately 1.1% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $177.41. 3,247,339 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,666,272. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on PEP shares. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Citigroup raised PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Six equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

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.