Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Grows Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,139,835 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,504 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of PepsiCo worth $173,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% in the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 16,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its stake in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osprey Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $148.11 on Thursday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.50. The company has a market cap of $203.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PEP. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.