Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Takes $1.19 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,000. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 1.1% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $177.41. 3,247,339 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,666,272. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.70. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

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.