PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Position Boosted by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 114.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 427 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Collier Financial bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $148.17 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.37. 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 market capitalization of $203.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.59.

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.