LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Lowers Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lessened its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,243 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $4,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 93.2% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of PEP stock opened at $153.47 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $148.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PEP. TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

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.