World Investment Advisors Boosts Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

World Investment Advisors lifted its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 73,816 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,210 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in PepsiCo were worth $11,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $149.12 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. 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 (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas cut their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

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.