Xponance Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Xponance Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 277,606 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,670 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 0.6% of Xponance Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $47,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.6 %

PEP traded up $2.79 on Thursday, hitting $172.27. The company had a trading volume of 5,265,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,695,882. The company has a market cap of $236.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.83 and a 12-month high of $196.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $27.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.40 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.03% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.92.

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.