Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Takes $1.51 Million Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,514,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,371,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,280,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PepsiCo by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,079,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,717,069,000 after buying an additional 582,254 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in PepsiCo by 18.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,856,193 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,729,565,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,013,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,841,000 after purchasing an additional 689,383 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP opened at $144.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.68. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $138.33 and a 52-week high of $183.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.49.

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

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $183.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.