Legend Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1,401.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,411 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,317 shares during the quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8 %

PepsiCo stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.93. 8,756,033 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,392,291. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $192.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PEP. 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.38.

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.