Finward Bancorp Acquires New Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Finward Bancorp bought a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after buying an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,280,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,133 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 2.7 %

PEP stock opened at $142.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $195.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.33 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.12.

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.