Riverbend Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Riverbend Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB increased its position in PepsiCo by 211.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 19.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 40,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,935,000 after buying an additional 6,704 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,612,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $156.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $214.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $148.89 and a 200 day moving average of $160.62. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PEP. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price target on the stock. 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.35.

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.