Morningstar Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,528 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 17,113.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201,676 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 360.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,672 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $145.81 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PEP. Barclays cut their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price target on the stock. CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.47.

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.