Eastover Investment Advisors LLC Raises Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Eastover Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,044 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for about 3.2% of Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Citigroup raised shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.77.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.01. The company had a trading volume of 5,710,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,548,546. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The company had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $1.265 per share. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.02%.

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.