Oakworth Capital Inc. Acquires 2,000 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,421 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 993,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,747,000 after purchasing an additional 370,122 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $405,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 1.4% in the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 13,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $185.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Argus lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.92.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP traded up $1.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,218,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,699,584. The stock has a market cap of $232.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $196.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $168.62 and a 200-day moving average of $167.37.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

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.