Piscataqua Savings Bank Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,450 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises 1.1% of Piscataqua Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Piscataqua Savings Bank’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $1,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $130.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $136.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.25. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.75 and a fifty-two week high of $180.91. The company has a market cap of $178.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.68%.

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.