BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Acquires 2,054 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 239,784 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,054 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $36,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,048,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,832,116,000 after buying an additional 831,148 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,748,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,178,295,000 after acquiring an additional 159,081 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,682,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,833,000 after purchasing an additional 137,736 shares during the period. Fidelity National Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $22,809,000. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PEP shares. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 price target (down previously from $185.00) on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective for the company. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.12.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $142.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $195.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49. 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.94.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 issued a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.