PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Purchased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,677,906 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,410 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo makes up about 0.7% of Aviva PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Aviva PLC owned 0.12% of PepsiCo worth $255,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PEP. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on PEP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $146.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.21. 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. The company has a market cap of $201.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio 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.