DnB Asset Management AS Increases Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 628,430 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,218 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $95,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PEP opened at $149.67 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $205.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

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.