Westend Capital Management LLC Takes Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.2% during the first quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 97,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,090,000 after buying an additional 2,129 shares during the period. Single Point Partners LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 5.0% during the first quarter. Single Point Partners LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 6.0% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 33,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after buying an additional 1,919 shares during the period. Security Financial Services INC. grew its position in PepsiCo by 1.6% during the first quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 3,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the first quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 37,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,509,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Argus lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.15.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $1.80 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $169.08. 812,722 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,487,601. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $173.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.36. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $192.38. The stock has a market cap of $232.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.52.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.50%.

Insider Activity at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PepsiCo Company 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.