Redmond Asset Management LLC Increases Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Redmond Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 79.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,196 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,924 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up about 1.1% of Redmond Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Redmond Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $153.50 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PEP. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

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.