CWS Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.69 Million Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,140 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 0.5% of CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 360.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,672 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,014,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,835 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $153.85 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $211.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.98.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PEP. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.