CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Acquires 106,461 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,922,680 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,461 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.14% of PepsiCo worth $292,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.0 %

PEP stock traded up $2.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $142.84. 6,052,161 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,110,283. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.33 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The company has a market cap 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 quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $148.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.94.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given 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 payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PEP. TD Cowen reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered shares of PepsiCo from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.12.

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.