Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Buys 4,945 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 173,865 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,945 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up about 1.0% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $28,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 77.5% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in PepsiCo by 141.3% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised 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 last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $178.47. 160,695 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,437,575. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $245.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 78.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo 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.