PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stake Lifted by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,687,231 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 358,092 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $256,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 3.1 %

PEP stock opened at $146.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The company has a market cap of $201.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $149.33 and a 200-day moving average of $157.21.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Company 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.