PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Purchased by Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,994 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,227,287,000 after acquiring an additional 578,083 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after buying an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,430,250,000 after buying an additional 1,105,127 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.31. 724,656 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,465,679. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.83 and a 52 week high of $192.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 81.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PepsiCo news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were 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 directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The sale 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.64.

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.