Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 92,981 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 494,956 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,981 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $75,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $154.44 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.76. PepsiCo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.51 and a fifty-two week high of $183.41. 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 market cap of $211.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PEP shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a $172.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on PepsiCo from $185.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.35.

About PepsiCo

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.