Vest Financial LLC Acquires 43,536 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 338,573 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 43,536 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $51,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 93.2% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $144.58 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.26. The company has a market cap of $198.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.