GenTrust LLC Grows Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

GenTrust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,450 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. GenTrust LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $152.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $208.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $148.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.73. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PEP shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price target on the stock. 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, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.