Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 15,400 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 482,084 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,400 shares during the quarter. PepsiCo accounts for approximately 0.6% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $69,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PEP. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $31,000. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the third quarter worth $33,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on PEP shares. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus upgraded shares of PepsiCo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.58.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of PEP opened at $141.92 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $152.21 and a 200 day moving average of $152.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 56.61%. The company had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 89.32%.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.