Banco Santander S.A. Boosts Stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,358 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 659 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $2,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 12.4% in 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. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in PepsiCo by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 470,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,527,000 after purchasing an additional 11,538 shares during the period. Prudential PLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 333.6% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 14,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 11,085 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in PepsiCo by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,781 shares during the period. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 181,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,618,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of PEP opened at $139.28 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $134.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 3.71 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $22.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 103.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $140.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.