Vertex Planning Partners LLC Has $589,000 Stock Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,871 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,729,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $589,307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in PepsiCo by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,217,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,504,000 after buying an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PepsiCo Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of PepsiCo stock opened at $149.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $149.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.51 and a 52-week high of $183.41.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 58.87%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.355 dividend. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $193.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. CICC Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.88.

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.