TCW Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 3.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 485,712 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,116 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $72,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PEP. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 630,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,598,000 after purchasing an additional 21,859 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.2% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 3,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 73,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,192,000 after purchasing an additional 42,793 shares in the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,633,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 124,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,977,000 after purchasing an additional 13,461 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of PEP stock opened at $143.45 on Friday. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $180.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $133.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $196.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. PepsiCo’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PEP. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.73.

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.