Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Raises Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,510 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,627 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up approximately 1.7% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.1% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.3% in the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,303,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 15.1% in the third quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.8% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 11,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 5.8% in the third quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.42.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP traded down $0.73 on Thursday, reaching $176.68. The stock had a trading volume of 7,436,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,872,530. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.70. The company has a market cap of $242.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 76.09%.

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.