Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Buys 141 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,994 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,227,287,000 after acquiring an additional 578,083 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after buying an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after buying an additional 1,345,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,430,250,000 after buying an additional 1,105,127 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $163.31. 724,656 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,465,679. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.26. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $192.38. The company has a market cap of $224.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. PepsiCo’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.64.

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.