Arkadios Wealth Advisors Buys 5,739 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 76.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,232 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,739 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,227,287,000 after acquiring an additional 578,083 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $2,686,139,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in PepsiCo by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,430,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,127 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,644,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,128,413,000 after purchasing an additional 375,963 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.53.

PepsiCo Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded down $1.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $172.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,611,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,433,641. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.77. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $236.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 57.37%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.66%.

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.