Carret Asset Management LLC Grows Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Carret Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,331 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 775 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises 1.3% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 24,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,374,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,924,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,760,000 after acquiring an additional 29,221 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 16,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 2,419 shares during the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 19,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 11,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $162.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,786,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,474,040. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.83 and a 1-year high of $192.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $172.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.24.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 81.50%.

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.