Sterneck Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Sterneck Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,642 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the quarter. Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innova Wealth Partners purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $480,000. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PEP. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $190.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.29.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $145.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $158.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.97. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.34 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.32% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $23.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.94%.

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.