Willis Investment Counsel Purchases 31,256 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Willis Investment Counsel raised its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 15.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 227,452 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,256 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up 1.8% of Willis Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $30,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 85.3% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 263.6% in the 2nd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. HSBC lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $157.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.95.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $146.10 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $165.13. The company has a market capitalization of $199.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $145.31 and a 200 day moving average of $140.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.58% and a net margin of 7.82%.The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.17%.

About PepsiCo

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.