PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Sold by Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,288 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 0.6% of Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $20,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Rogco LP raised its stake in PepsiCo by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Rogco LP now owns 11,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,037,000 after acquiring an additional 2,364 shares during the last quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 41,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,126,000 after purchasing an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 9,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,645,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 77,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,148,000 after buying an additional 3,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $175.47. The stock had a trading volume of 730,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,728,248. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

PepsiCo 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.