Wedbush Securities Inc. Purchases 2,223 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,831 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Claris Advisors LLC MO grew its position in PepsiCo by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 2,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.6% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 5,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.2% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 3,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 46.4% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,098,000 after acquiring an additional 36,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 25,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,342,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Loop Capital set a $164.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $146.00 to $145.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on PepsiCo from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.95.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $142.95 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.75. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $166.88. The stock has a market cap of $195.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

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.