Farringdon Capital Ltd. Takes $1.31 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,310,000. PepsiCo makes up approximately 0.5% of Farringdon Capital Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 16,275.8% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 936,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,459,000 after buying an additional 931,141 shares during the period. Coleford Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,673,000. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $1,195,000. Finally, Finer Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,757 shares of the company's stock worth $2,396,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PEP. HSBC cut their target price on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen decreased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective for the company. Finally, CICC Research reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.12.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $2.75 on Friday, hitting $142.84. The company had a trading volume of 6,052,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,110,283. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.33 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.16 and a 200-day moving average of $154.94.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The business's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.