Orion Capital Management LLC Raises Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Orion Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,491 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PEP. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.42.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, hitting $176.16. 2,483,836 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,764,251. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $169.74 and its 200 day moving average is $168.16. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.83 and a fifty-two week high of $196.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.53.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.09%.

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.