Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $8.28 Million Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 85.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,500 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.9% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $130.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $134.63 and a 200-day moving average of $145.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.75 and a 12-month high of $180.91. The company has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

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.