Saratoga Research & Investment Management Has $32.43 Million Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 161.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,292 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 114,345 shares during the period. PepsiCo makes up about 1.5% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $32,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,686,139,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 9,623.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,058,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026,611 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its stake in PepsiCo by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,727,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,586 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake 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 worth $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,065 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at PepsiCo

In other news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value 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 approximately $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8 %

PepsiCo stock opened at $164.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $226.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.83 and a 12 month high of $192.38.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.25 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 81.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PEP. Barclays decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on PepsiCo from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Argus downgraded PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded PepsiCo from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on PepsiCo from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.38.

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.