LGT Capital Partners LTD. Boosts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. grew its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 77,398 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,977 shares during the period. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,170,529,000 after acquiring an additional 543,558 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,013,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,841,000 after acquiring an additional 689,383 shares during the period. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $154.44 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $148.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market cap of $211.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.35.

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.