Physicians Financial Services Inc. Increases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,974 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises approximately 1.0% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% during the third quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $149.10 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $148.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.49. The firm has a market cap of $204.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PEP. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

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.