PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Position Boosted by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 605.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,594 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 112,094 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $19,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company's stock worth $9,738,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company's stock worth $5,170,529,000 after acquiring an additional 543,558 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company's stock worth $3,632,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125,059 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company's stock worth $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 2.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,098,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,057,359,000 after buying an additional 313,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $4.40 on Friday, reaching $153.50. 10,586,982 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,999,466. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The business's 50-day moving average is $148.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.39. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. 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 3.53%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $171.47.

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.