Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $2.32 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,266 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on PEP shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.64.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP traded down $0.98 on Thursday, reaching $162.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,879,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,397,682. The stock has a market cap of $223.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $192.38. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $172.95 and its 200 day moving average is $170.24.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 81.50%.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is 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.