Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC Grows Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,524 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in PepsiCo by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its stake in PepsiCo by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup upgraded PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $0.70 on Friday, hitting $176.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,492,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,328,097. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.36. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $196.88. The company has a market capitalization of $242.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.50%.

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.