Delta Financial Group Inc. Makes New $1.09 Million Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 7,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,094,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% in the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.8% in the third quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% in the third quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tcfg Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $153.50 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $148.66 and a 200 day moving average of $162.18.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

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.