Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 103,652 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,317,162 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 103,652 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up 0.5% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.55% of PepsiCo worth $22,302,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Red Mountain Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $285,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 21,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,698,000 after buying an additional 3,632 shares during the period. Willner & Heller LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $551,000. Gerber LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,000. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 51,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In related news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $166.14 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $155.83 and a one year high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.08 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.00%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.17.

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.