Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 727,087 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,748,403 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 727,087 shares during the period. PepsiCo comprises approximately 0.6% of Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.00% of PepsiCo worth $2,090,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company's stock worth $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company's stock worth $9,738,429,000 after buying an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after buying an additional 1,376,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock traded up $3.21 on Thursday, reaching $152.33. 3,929,764 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,892,601. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.46. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

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PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $169.88.

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.