Matauro LLC Purchases Shares of 1,756 PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Matauro LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in PepsiCo by 211.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 360.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company's stock worth $258,158,000 after buying an additional 1,328,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,014,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,324,000 after buying an additional 1,157,835 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $153.50 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $148.75 and its 200 day moving average is $162.39.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo 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.

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