Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 1,376,133 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,376,133 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of PepsiCo worth $20,280,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PEP. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Trading Down 1.2 %

PEP opened at $145.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $149.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.09.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PEP. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

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.