KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Increases Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 523,896 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,600 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $78,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,717,069,000 after acquiring an additional 582,254 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,729,565,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,403,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,494,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,818 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,062,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,108,585,000 after acquiring an additional 49,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,748,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,090,582,000 after acquiring an additional 727,087 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PEP. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.73.

PepsiCo Stock Up 2.4%

PEP traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $145.03. 3,419,998 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,232,190. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $180.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.23 and a 200 day moving average of $141.04. The firm has a market cap of $198.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 57.81%. The company had revenue of $22.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.64%.

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.