DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co Increases Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 55,180 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises about 1.7% of DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,014,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,835 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $153.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

About PepsiCo

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.