Elefante Mark B Invests $638,000 in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Elefante Mark B acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 4,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Norges Bank bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in PepsiCo by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 360.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,697,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,158,000 after buying an additional 1,328,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP opened at $131.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $180.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.16 and a 12-month high of $183.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $144.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 83.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America cut their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, CICC Research reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.69.

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.