PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 106.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,514,965 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,809,391 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for 0.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.26% of PepsiCo worth $527,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,031,000 after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,268,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $883,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Up 1.4%

PEP stock opened at $131.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $180.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.75 and a 12 month high of $180.91. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.74.

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

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

PepsiCo 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.