Ledge Wealth Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Ledge Wealth Management Inc. cut its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises approximately 1.2% of Ledge Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Ledge Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LifePro Asset Management boosted its position in PepsiCo by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 3,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Legacy Bridge LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 4.3% in the second quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 5,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the second quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,275,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 49,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,124,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares during the last quarter. 71.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. StockNews.com upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $206.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.00.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $179.38 on Tuesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.98 and a 1-year high of $196.88. The stock has a market cap of $246.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.42, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $182.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.61.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 13th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.73 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.05% and a net margin of 8.76%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $1.265 dividend. This represents a $5.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.62%.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells 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.