Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Makes New $47.90 Million Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 315,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,899,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $20,280,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in PepsiCo by 360.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,672 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock opened at $128.45 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $142.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.16. 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 $176.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.87 and a 12 month high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.4225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

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.