Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 560,702 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 129.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 992,900 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 560,702 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.07% of PepsiCo worth $150,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $171.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped 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. Finally, CICC Research restated a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PEP stock traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $144.43. The company had a trading volume of 8,560,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,085,688. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $138.33 and a twelve month high of $183.41. 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 $198.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's 50-day moving average is $148.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.78.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is currently 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.