Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 571,653 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,853 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in PepsiCo were worth $86,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 182,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,697,000 after buying an additional 8,452 shares during the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC lifted its position in PepsiCo by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 47,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $1,390,000. Finally, Emerald Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 6,810 shares of the company's stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

NASDAQ PEP traded up $4.26 on Friday, hitting $153.36. The company had a trading volume of 6,511,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,858,976. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $210.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.51 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The company's fifty day moving average price is $148.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo's payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $171.47.

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.