AIA Group Ltd Raises Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 503.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,935 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $3,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 2.0% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $527,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 739.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 119,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,394,000 after buying an additional 105,592 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in PepsiCo by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 42,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,284,000 after acquiring an additional 11,553 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.3% during the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 62,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,577,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. CICC Research reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $149.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $205.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $149.28 and its 200 day moving average is $157.72. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.