First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 137,736 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,682,445 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 137,736 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.12% of PepsiCo worth $255,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PEP. UBS Group reduced their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. CICC Research reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $165.50.

PepsiCo Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded down $6.87 on Thursday, reaching $135.39. 6,686,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,519,643. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $148.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.70 and a 52 week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.