Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Acquires New Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 291,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,301,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 239,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,377,000 after buying an additional 24,923 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,516,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,725,000 after acquiring an additional 595,257 shares during the period. American Money Management LLC grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. American Money Management LLC now owns 26,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas cut their target price on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $149.27 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. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.03. The firm has a market cap of $204.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

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.