Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Acquires New Position in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 315,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,899,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 3,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock worth $9,031,000 after acquiring an additional 6,574 shares in the last quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 5,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut PepsiCo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. HSBC lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.69.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

Shares of PEP stock traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $131.37. The stock had a trading volume of 13,960,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,503,657. 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 capitalization of $180.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $139.16 and its 200 day moving average is $147.95. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.75 and a twelve month high of $180.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.4225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. This represents a $5.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.68%.

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.