Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 36,239 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 46.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 114,344 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,239 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $15,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Centurion Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. SK Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. SK Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Pflug Koory LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 7,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Hoge Financial Services LLC increased its position in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 3,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $141.98 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $194.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.46. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $177.50.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.81% and a net margin of 8.23%.PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.038-8.038 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 103.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $146.00 to $145.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.87.

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.