North Star Investment Management Corp. Boosts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,834 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for 1.0% of North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $13,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9,623.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,381,000 after buying an additional 3,026,611 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,259,000 after buying an additional 1,495,586 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,909,000 after buying an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $1.79 on Friday, hitting $164.39. The stock had a trading volume of 3,951,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,470,685. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.83 and a 52-week high of $192.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $226.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $172.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.13.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas began coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.64.

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.