Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Has $4.31 Million Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,372 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,227,287,000 after buying an additional 578,083 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,859,812,000 after purchasing an additional 595,357 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470,064 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.6 %

PEP traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $175.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,472,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,365,961. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.53. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $196.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $169.40 and its 200-day moving average is $167.86.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock 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 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

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.