Hopwood Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 5,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $767,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after buying an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 211.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,345,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,847,000 after buying an additional 1,592,343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 2.5 %

PEP opened at $152.33 on Wednesday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.51 and a 12 month high of $183.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $208.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.35.

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.