Natural Investments LLC Invests $2 Million in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Natural Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,003,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,592,343 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.0% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 19.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 40,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,935,000 after purchasing an additional 6,704 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 53.0% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the third quarter worth $1,612,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.35.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEP opened at $156.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $148.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.62. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.51 and a 1-year high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

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.