Windle Wealth LLC Raises Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Windle Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,942 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises approximately 3.5% of Windle Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Windle Wealth LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in PepsiCo by 5.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PEP. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.35.

PepsiCo Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $152.33 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $208.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

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.