Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Grows Stock Holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 621,385 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,865 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $100,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. Collier Financial acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 93.2% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PEP. HSBC decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a $172.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.35.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $154.44 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.51 and a 1 year high of $183.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $148.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.96.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date 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.