Spire Wealth Management Purchases 4,022 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 54,461 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,022 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $9,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $0.70 on Friday, hitting $176.15. The stock had a trading volume of 3,492,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,328,097. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $170.14 and a 200 day moving average of $168.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.83 and a twelve month high of $196.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.52.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio 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.