Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Raises Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 50,333 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises 5.2% of Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 11,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 69,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,747,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock traded down $2.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $179.46. 1,536,229 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,461,693. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 2.95 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. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $192.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.00.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.