AMF Tjanstepension AB Reduces Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

AMF Tjanstepension AB lessened its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 745,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155,791 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo comprises about 1.0% of AMF Tjanstepension AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned 0.05% of PepsiCo worth $130,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,227,287,000 after acquiring an additional 578,083 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,065 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,430,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $164.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $173.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.30. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $192.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $226.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 57.37%. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Argus cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PepsiCo news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of PepsiCo stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,603,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About PepsiCo

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.