West Tower Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

West Tower Group LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $9,738,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $5,170,529,000 after acquiring an additional 543,558 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $3,834,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 valued at $2,130,841,000 after acquiring an additional 689,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 valued at $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price target on the stock. HSBC cut their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $148.99 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $148.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.58. The firm has a market cap of $204.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

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.