StoneX Group Inc. Buys 11,877 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

StoneX Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 45.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,906 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,877 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $5,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PEP. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $149.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.28 and a 200-day moving average of $157.72. The stock has a market cap of $205.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.52. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.51 and a 52 week high of $183.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

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

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays cut PepsiCo from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $168.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.