Castle Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Castle Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,794 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 331 shares during the quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 95,514.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,876,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,746,023,000 after acquiring an additional 42,831,405 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,720,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,827,240,000 after purchasing an additional 4,629,947 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,423,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,736,000 after purchasing an additional 920,032 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,878,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,859,812,000 after buying an additional 595,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,519,707,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $174.13. 6,636,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,735,731. The business has a 50-day moving average of $168.68 and a 200-day moving average of $167.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $196.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 58.03%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.92.

PepsiCo Company 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.