Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Grows Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 453,908 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,900 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for about 0.7% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $69,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 7,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Tcfg Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $153.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $210.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.18.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight 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 $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.