Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Makes New $553,000 Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $553,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in PepsiCo by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,350,000 after purchasing an additional 870,451 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in PepsiCo by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,323,000 after buying an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 11.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 350,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,549,000 after buying an additional 34,633 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,236,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,031,000 after purchasing an additional 61,541 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.7 %

PEP stock opened at $149.67 on Friday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.37. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The company has a market capitalization of $205.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.62%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on PEP shares. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.