MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Purchases New Position in PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 71,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,443,000. PepsiCo comprises approximately 1.0% of MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEP. Claris Advisors LLC MO lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 14.1% in the second quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 2,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 5,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 46.4% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,098,000 after purchasing an additional 36,239 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.5% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 25,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,342,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.3% during the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 26,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on PepsiCo from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.35.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.1%

PepsiCo stock opened at $150.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.29. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $160.15. The stock has a market cap of $205.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 8th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $23.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 108.17%.

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.