Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $266.88 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,755,099 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 372,419 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $266,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Lincoln Capital LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 16,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, TAGStone Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $149.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $204.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.03.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

PepsiCo Company 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.