Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2,650 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,129 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $7,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter worth $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 80.5% in 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 during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Avion Wealth increased 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at $47,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.3 %

PepsiCo stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.50. 4,407,651 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,724,224. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.70 and a 200 day moving average of $167.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $230.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

About PepsiCo

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.