Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Buys 21,538 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 422,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,538 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $65,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 99.1% in the 1st quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s brand and growth efforts are getting fresh visibility, including marketing around “modern soda,” dirty-soda products, and broader consumer engagement. These trends could support beverage demand and help the company defend share in a changing soft-drink market.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains constructive overall: Citigroup kept a Buy rating even after trimming its price target to $170, implying meaningful upside from current levels. That helps reassure investors that the stock still looks attractively valued despite recent weakness.
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo continues to stand out as a diversified dividend stock, with coverage highlighting its 54-year streak of dividend growth. For income-oriented investors, that long track record can provide support ahead of earnings. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $162.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday. Evercore raised their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $182.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.85.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.3%

PEP stock opened at $141.39 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $148.40 and its 200 day moving average is $152.01. The stock has a market cap of $193.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.11 and a 1-year high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.94%.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.