M&G Plc Acquires Shares of 411,545 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

M&G Plc bought a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 411,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,020,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,001,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,227,287,000 after purchasing an additional 578,083 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $2,686,139,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,664,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,064 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,954,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,520,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345,065 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,421,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,430,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on PepsiCo from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at PepsiCo

In other PepsiCo news, CEO Ramkumar Krishnan sold 5,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,953 shares in the company, valued at $9,603,634. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $169.36. The stock had a trading volume of 5,332,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,599,835. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $232.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.83 and a 1 year high of $192.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.59 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 57.37% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 78.66%.

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.