515,296 Shares in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 515,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,945,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after buying an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $145.45 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The stock has a market cap of $199.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.22.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PEP shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

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.