Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,296 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,924 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $10,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,170,529,000 after purchasing an additional 543,558 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 5.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,632,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125,059 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in PepsiCo by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,013,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,841,000 after purchasing an additional 689,383 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 21.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PEP shares. Barclays cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEP opened at $153.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.60. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.