Baxter Bros Inc. Acquires 312 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Baxter Bros Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,331 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 95,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,212,000 after acquiring an additional 6,365 shares during the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 3,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $3,357,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 69,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,751,000 after buying an additional 13,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $176.15. The company had a trading volume of 3,492,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,328,097. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $196.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.36. 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 firm has a market cap of $242.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

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.