AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Acquires 2,865 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,547 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% during the third 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,170,529,000 after buying an additional 543,558 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after buying an additional 1,125,059 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third 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, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,098,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,057,359,000 after buying an additional 313,468 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.8 %

PEP opened at $143.39 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a one year low of $141.51 and a one year high of $183.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.47.

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.